Dark Fantasy
by Astarpen
Summary: Captured by a secret organization and experimented on, causing them to form a co-dependent bond. Charlie and Santana escape changed. [Charlie/Santana]
1. Prologue

**AN: I haven't done anything like this in a very long time, but this is supposed to be read in parts. So you'll get each "part" I believe there are 4 until this story is done. The more reviews I get, the more inclined I get to upload a part which is at the very least 10+ chapters or so. This first part is 25 which includes the prologue. **

**Summary: Captured by a secret organization and experimented on, causing them to form a co-dependent bond. Charlie and Santana escape changed. [Charlie/Santana]**

**Song: Dark Fantasy - Kanye West**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

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"What do you mean you can't pick me up? You said you would!" Santana sighed as she adjusted her gym bag on her shoulder to stop it from sliding to the ground. "I know I'm grounded, but this wouldn't be a problem if you just let me drive. That's why you got me my own car remember? So, you didn't have to drive me anywhere."

'_You got into an accident because you were texting and driving_,' Miguel Lopez reminded her with an irritated sigh, he knew that she would do anything to get them to relent but this was tiring.

"It was a small fender bender and I totally learned my lesson," Santana pleaded. "Abuela doesn't drive anymore, so it's not like she can ship me around and you don't trust my friends to give me rides."

'_No, because they're probably texting and driving as well. You're our only child, and a parent should never have to bury their child, especially because their child is a bloody idiot. You're being inconvenienced, to teach you an important lesson Santana. It's just for the week, go buy a bus pass and use the bus system, and walk. It's good for you.'_

"Walk? Are you kidding me? So is ballet, cheerleading practice, and gymnastics, a bus will add at least forty minutes to my commute, and that's if they aren't running late! Plus, I still have to get to the hospital tonight, because my shift starts then, and I still have to write my entrance essay. If you're going to punish me at least make it fair and something that won't destroy my schedule, and make me late for everything." Santana argues back immediately.

'_Fine, take a taxi or whatever. I need to get back to work Santana, I've got a surgery in about twenty minutes and I still haven't eaten the lunch yet.'_

"Fine I'll take an Uber, but I need to remind you that some of those drivers are _sketchy_ as hell and by the way they're generally on their goddamn phones as well. If I get kidnapped and raped it's totally going to be your fault," Santana points out.

'_Dios mío, just take a taxi then, we'll talk about this later at home. You're worse than your mother.' _Miguel groaned shaking his head.

Santana smirked, she was totally getting her car back, she had worn her father down and all that would be left would be to argue her case in front of her mother. "I'll take an UberBlack, see you at home dad." Santana said keeping the amusement out of her voice as she hangs up. She laughs, she was totally going to get her way and she'd be back on the streets in no time. She opens the app, and quickly selects the location and selects the most expensive ride with a pleased smile, at least she'd be travelling in style. She glances up when someone jostles her and is about to rip their head off when she notices Quinn, at least she thought that was her name. She was the scholarship kid, it was obvious from her ill-fitting clothes, and the fact that she was currently counting coins to get on the bus, that she didn't belong at the preparatory academy. "_Watch it,_" she snaps not noticing that the screen on her phone flickers for a moment.

"Sorry," Quinn mumbles in return as she continues to head for her bus, she was going to be late. She didn't have time to deal with Santana Lopez, the head bitch in charge of McKinley prep.

Santana rolls her eyes, and looks down at the UberBlack car, it was closer than she had expected but this was a rather _affluent_ part of town, maybe they had dropped off someone famous and they were picking her up next. It was a nice thought but she didn't have time to focus on it, she just hoped that she would have time to work on her entrance essay tonight, she was already a bit behind. She waits a few more moments before pushing herself to a standing position when she notices a black escalade entering the parking lot, with it's tinted windows. She _definitely_ would look like someone important in that monster of a vehicle. It stops right in front of the entrance to McKinley and she walks down the steps as the driver hops out, he's dressed in a button up shirt and a red tie and he's even got one of those chauffeur hats on. Totally better than some creepy college kid or old lady who just liked to talk, she wasn't in the mood for that. "Thanks, I've got to get to my ballet class, it's downtown."

"Not a problem, here let me help you with that," the man said offering to take her gym bag and backpack. When she hands them to him he quickly moves to the back of the car, opening the trunk and placing the items down carefully.

Santana watches him for a moment before he closes the trunk and moves to open the door for her, "Thank you, totally _worth _how expensive this ride is going to be," she says as she takes him hand allowing him to help her get into the escalade. She grimaces when she feels a sharp pinch in her arm and looks down at her arm, but he was just helping her into the car. "Ow. What was that?"

"What was what?" The man asks a confused look on his face.

There was an earnest look on his face, and she dismissed the sensation, as she finally took her seat and buckled her seatbelt, "Nothing I guess, must have just been an electric shock. No big deal," she says dismissively with a shrug of her shoulders. She blinks a few times, suddenly feeling exhausted in the big comfortable chairs. Well it had been a long day of classes; a quick nap would be fine.

~O~

Charlie Fabray glanced at the time on her phone before slipping it back into her pocket. Well if Quinn was already this late that probably meant that she would be okay to do a few more sales before her twin sister got back. The last thing she needed was Quinn bitching about how she made money. Pot was _barely_ a drug, and she made most of her money selling munchies to the neighborhood potheads, who were far too lazy to get off their asses and get snacks. She looks at her clipboard for a moment, she'd be on her bike for most of the night delivering all the snacks but it was good business and she nearly had enough saved up to buy herself a small car. Then she'd be able to make her small business bigger.

"Charlie?"

Charlie turns around and grins at Ms. Hagberg, she was her _best _customer. "The usual?"

"Yeah, there's an extra twenty in it for you if you drop that low-sodium garbage you've been picking up for me. I'm old, let me eat what I want. I don't need you watching my blood pressure for me, that's why I have a doctor."

Charlie laughed, "Fine, fine, I'll get you the good stuff tonight, apparently there's a new blend a bit more expensive but super in—" Charlie flicks her eyes to the street and waves at the police car that was driving past. She pauses for a moment when the lights flash and Ms. Hagberg blinks, this was new mostly they just waved back. She was _used_ to dealing with the cops, and most days they were nice and gave her free burgers. She was certain that they were trying to get her to talk about the dark bruises on her arms and legs. She didn't talk but they certainly knew about her 'side' business. Sure, she'd been pulled in a few times but what they thought she was up to wasn't illegal. "Maybe it's someone new," Charlie mumbled to Ms. Hagberg. "Don't worry I'll be fine, just let them know that I run a delivery service."

"Of course," Ms. Hagberg says flicking her eyes to the police car for a moment. She wondered if she should stay back she did have a legal medical marijuana card, but Charlie seemed to have a handle on these things. "I'll see you at the usual time."

"Of course, don't worry," Charlie said as she approached the police car, stopping when a police officer opened the door and stepped out. She had been right it was someone new, "Hello, you're new in the neighborhood, my name is Charlie Fabray, I know what this looks like but I made sure that my business is legal. I just deliver groceries for some of the elderly ladies in the blocks, for a bit of extra cash."

"Hands on the hood of the car."

The command came and Charlie stares at him for a moment in a disbelief, she hadn't been arrested in nearly two years, "This is a mistake if you just—I'm well known at the precinct—"

"_Hands on the hood of the car_," The command came again sharper this time and the man reached for her, grabbing her arm.

Charlie hissed in pain and immediately tried to pull back, she had a few new presents from her father and they hadn't even become close to being numb yet. She knew it was a mistake the moment the police officer picked her up and slammed her against the ground hard, she gasps gritting her teeth to keep herself from crying out in pain as she's picked up and slammed against the hood of the car. She immediately goes as limp as possible trying to relax her body, despite the adrenaline coursing through her system. "I'm sorry, I'm not resisting though," she says calmly, as she feels her arms being pulled back hard. She feels a sharp pain in her side, but she doesn't say anything as she's patted down roughly. "Why am I being arrested?"

"Resisting arrest," the gruff reply came.

"You can't resist arrest if you're not under arrest, I'm a teenager and even I know that," Charlie says her tongue becoming heavy and she frowns as she's hauled off the hood of the car, she grimaces as her head slams against the roof of the car and she's tossed unceremoniously into the back seat. She looks up at the other guy who was simply sitting in the car eating a donut and sipping on some coffee.

"She's not a runaway."

"Boss said to bring in the drug dealers, get as many teenagers as we can. She fits the age group. Who the fuck cares. We're almost done anyway just a few more kids and we get our checks."

Charlie's eyes felt heavy as she struggles against her cuffs, she'd been drugged, with what she didn't know. She wanted to scream and kick but she couldn't even be bothered to do so. She was probably going to die. Well if they were planning to put her out of her misery then she'd be okay with that. Maybe then she'd stop hurting.


	2. Part 01: Chapter 1

'_If anyone has any information, any information at all about the whereabouts of our daughter, if you please call the number on the screen. She's an amazing girl, she does so much—we just want our little girl back. Please her name is Santana Maria Lopez. Here's a picture—' _

Quinn frowned as she looked at her father who was sipping on a beer, as he flipped through the channels. "She goes to my school, there have been grief counsellors there for the past two weeks. Cops are talking to everyone. They questioned me, I told her I saw her on my way to the bus."

Russell grunts at this, "She's probably dead. Two weeks? She's a pretty girl, probably dead in a ditch somewhere."

Quinn flinched at his cavalier attitude, he was getting drunk, "Charlie's been gone for just as long—you don't think that this is connected?"

Russell scoffs loudly taking another swig of his beer before belching, "You think she and this chick ran away together? Do they even know each other?"

"No—but I mean—"

"She ran away, or she got arrested, or she's dead in a ditch somewhere. That's what happens to crack addicts."

"Charlie isn't a crack addict," Quinn snaps standing up, she flinches when Russell turns his attention to her for a moment, but she wasn't going to let him just make shit up, to make himself feel like a decent parent. He hadn't been one since their mother had died, he hadn't been that great before Judy had died either. "She didn't run, she wouldn't leave me, or leave without telling me. She doesn't do _drugs_, and she's not dead in a ditch somewhere. Something happened to her. I _know it_. We need to go to the police—"

"And let them arrest me? For a crime that I didn't do? You think that they aren't looking closely at those parents? They probably did it, accidentally killed her or something, they're probably illegals or something, taking the good jobs from hard-working citizens like me."

Quinn bit her lip, resisting the urge to scream at him. Charlie had never been away for this long, and she certainly didn't miss school for two weeks straight. The whole thing was odd, Charlie especially didn't just disappear when she had clients that depended on her. She spent most of her time working, trying to save up every penny so that they could leave the moment that they graduated. But even Ms. Hagberg said she hadn't seen her since she had been arrested by the police. Which didn't make any sense, she'd been down to the police department but they swore up and down that Charlie wasn't in their system. She couldn't put together what was going on, but she knew Charlie wouldn't just drop off the face of the earth without a reason. She was tempted to file the report herself, but she _knew_ that it would lead to uncomfortable questions and if Charlie was just taking some time to herself she'd be pissed.

They'd never _talked _about what she should do if Charlie just disappeared, she was aware that her twin knew some sketchy people, and hardened criminals that she did business with. She didn't want to think about the fact that her father could be right, she could be dead in a ditch somewhere. People didn't like how she did business, and she knew that her sister had some rivals, but she had always said that it was _nothing_. This wasn't _nothing_ and she didn't know who to turn to for answers. Her father was content to spend his days, drinking and cursing at the television in his underwear, and she hadn't spoken to her other sister in years. She'd give it a month, before she went to the police. They probably wouldn't even spend any time or money on her sister's disappearance. Santana Lopez's family had _money_, and her mother was someone important in the district attorney's office. The entire _city _was looking for her, no one would look for Charlie. No one.

~O~

Things like this weren't supposed to _happen _to her. She wasn't supposed to wake up in a dilapidated old prison, on a little cot, surrounded by a hundred other teenagers, chained to the wall like some _animal_. She'd been forced to share a cell with six other teenagers, male and female. The boy had leered at her, and attempted to grope her a few times, but he had finally left her alone after a swift kick to his nuts had left him _writhing _on the floor in agony. She had stayed up most of the night, keeping an eye on him to make sure he didn't _try_ anything.

That of course didn't stop him from staring at her whenever she needed to use the single shiny toilet in the middle of the cell, he _disgusted_ her and even though she wanted to yell and scream at him to stop staring she decided to simply ignore him. She had _hoped _to find a way out of this mess, a secret tunnel, _anything_, but there was no escape. Which was why she sat and waited, watching and counting the teenagers that she could see. There was definitely a _hundred _at least on this floor level, or at least there _had _been a hundred.

She swallows as she looks at the boy who had once groped her, noting the crusty lesions on his face, dried blood caked around his mucosal membranes, almost as if his insides had leaked out. The crusty lesions had once been filled with a watery pus, blisters. Like he'd been cooked inside a giant microwave. She scratches her arm popping one of her lesions and hissing in pain. It still _hurt_, whatever it was that they had done to her. It _still _hurt. She almost wished he was alive just so she could swat his hands away, staying in this cell with his rotting corpse freaked her out. He'd died, miserably crying and coughing up blood, and he was beginning to smell.

It had been shots first, they would come and take them cell by cell into a room and just give them shots. Nothing happened at first, she certainly hadn't felt anything different. The scientists in their surgical masks walked the hallways with the damn clipboards making a note of everything, tutting when another teenager died. Sometimes they died screaming, sometimes they died choking on their own vomit, there was no medical care, no one who could _save them_, or wanted to save them.

Her other cellmates had died soon after the first set of shots, she could still remember the young girls screams as she clawed at her neck, scratching and tearing at the muscles in her neck, where they had given her the shot. She had tried to scream but not one sound had come out. She would close her eyes and still see it, all of the first-aid training that she had been given by her father hadn't _helped_ her. She couldn't save the girl, so she had backed away and simply closed her eyes and tried not to _hear _the kicking writhing as she struggled to live. She had half expected to die like that as well, she had no idea what they had injected them with, but the shots continued and more and more people died. The scientists couldn't be bothered to clean up after themselves and just let the bodies _lay there_ rotting.

The shots had been phase one, and that seemed to have halved the number of teens considerably, and they had finally moved her into a different cell with the handsy sullen boy who liked to leer at her. They had been exposed to light next, it had burned at her skin, causing it to peel and blister, like she had been burned. It didn't take her long to realize that they had been exposed to some heavy-duty radiation, enough to cause parts of her hair to fall out in clumps. She had been lucky, some of them had grown tumors and had died quickly, and others—she swallows and looks at the corpse once more, how long had it been? At least his body hadn't begun to smell yet.

The sound of the doors opening caused her to push herself off her cot, and inch towards the bars so she could take a look as the scientists began to make their rounds. A government experiment? There were _rules_ against this sort of shit, the Nazi's had done shit like this, she had never given credence to those conspiracy _nuts_ that would claim that the government was evil but she was a believer now, if she survived this if _someone _rescued her, she would make sure that _everyone _knew. Everyone knew and understood what they had been through.

"All deceased in cell A."

"Deceased in cell B through—hold on, one of them is still alive. _Barely_."

Santana strained to see if she could get a better look, watching as they entered the cell and dragged out a bald boy, holding him in between them. She wasn't quite sure he was _alive_ from the looks of him, he was certainly dying.

"Put him in cell G, with the other one that's managed to live. That's two percent of possible test subjects, this is the last batch of kids if this doesn't work the entire project is done." The scientist in the surgical mask muttered under his breath as they shoved the dying boy into a cell that she could only assume contained another live subject.

She had tried to play dead, but they had always been aware of those that were faking, and she was certain that they were more brutal in their "treatments" then they needed to be for wasting their time. Which was why she stands as tall as she can, despite every bone in her body screaming in agony. She meets one of the eyes of the scientists. "I'm going to kill you."

The threat falls flat when the scientists gives her a critical look, "She looks better than the others, add her with the rest," he says. "Phase 3 begins tonight."

The other scientist nods, and opens the door, moving to unlock her from where she had been chained up, "Even if you do survive," he whispers to her. "You'll be dissected to see what makes you _tick_, and if you think what we've done to you now is bad, imagine when you're laid up on our table alive looking at your internal organs."

It's enough to take the wind out of her sails, there was no escape, there was no _surviving_, she was going to _die _here. They had just made it clear, she'd never see her parents again, or her friends—she was just going to die a _horrible _death. She's shoved unceremoniously into cell F and notices the two other teens. The boy looked like he was close to death, he wouldn't be leaving here alive, if he even managed to survive to the next challenge.

"We've got one more over here."

"I can walk, you don't need to drag me."

Santana frowns and tilts her head, the voice sounded slightly familiar, but the door opens and a familiar looking teen is shoved inside. "Quinn, they got you too?" She hadn't suspected, it certainly made sense, Quinn had been right behind her. The girl turns to stare at her, crinkling her nose, a blank expression on her face. "Quinn—" Santana stumbled backwards as the girl suddenly entered her personal space, and cocked her head to the side. This wasn't Quinn.

"How do you know my sister? Is she here?" There was a worry in her voice and Santana gently shoves her away. "No—I don't know, who the fuck are you?"

The girl pulls back and looks around the cell, "Charlotte, everyone calls me Charlie, who are you? How do you know my sister?"

Santana swallows, unsure what to make of the girl in front of her, she didn't look to be in pain as she looked around the cell, and gently tapped the metal toilet with her foot, listening. "Santana Lopez—I go to McKinley, I saw her she bumped into me before I got taken," its the first time she's said anything about the time she was taken and Charlie flicks her eyes at her before pushing the cots around.

"What are you doing?"

Charlie stops staring at the boy who was dying on one of the cots for a moment, before turning to face the larger sullen girl who hadn't spoken yet. "Haven't you watched prison break? I'm looking for a way out," she said as if it were obvious. "Pipes have to lead, somewhere don't they?" Charlie shrugs for a moment.

Santana frowns slightly, "You think it's that easy?"

"No, but it beats sitting around waiting to die doesn't it Santana?" Charlie pauses for a moment and turns around to look at Santana, narrowing her eyes and looking her up and down for a moment. "Santana Lopez—aren't you the one that makes my sister's life miserable?"

Santana blinked, that had seemed so long ago, "I don't know what you're—" she winces as her back hits the wall, Charlie had entered her personal space again. "Now isn't the time to go over grievances," she manages to get out, there was a dark stormy look on Charlie's face, and for a moment she was certain that the girl was going to hurt her. Instead she pulls back.

"You're right. Once we get out you're going to apologize and be her friend, and make your goons lay off," Charlie says after a moment, turning her attention to the boy and prodding him. He groans in response. "Sorry, I thought you were dead—" she prompts.

"Noah," he manages to get out.

"Lauren," the girl says speaking up.

Charlie nods pushing a smile onto her face, "We're the last ones standing that's got to mean something right?"

Santana swallows, there was a confidence in her words, and a swagger in her step. "Even if we live, they're going to dissect us. The scientist said, find out what makes us tick."

"When we get out of here, you're going to be her friend," Charlie repeats as if there is no room for argument.

Santana scowls a bit, now she remembered why she hadn't _talked_ to anyone else while here. There was no point in making friends when they were about to die. "Whatever," she mumbles. Charlie was probably the next one to die after the boy.


	3. Part 01: Chapter 2

Santana wrapped her arms around herself tightly on the cot, trying to will her body to stop being in _pain_. Another biopsy without anesthetic had practically wiped her out, and she had no idea how much longer she could keep clinging to life. She was unsure if she was coming down with something or if the pain had finally managed to sap most of her strength. She looks over at Charlie who was pacing the cell, she'd been like that for the past twenty minutes, mumbling to herself. "How are you not tired?"

Charlie blinks and turns to look at Santana, a small smile flitting across her face, "We're leaving here. _Tonight_."

Santana shakes her head, wondering if she was truly alone now that Charlie had clearly lost her mind. "Are you delirious? How do you think we're going to do that? We've got nothing no weapons, we're stuck in this cell, I mean we've probably got a few days left, before they finish their experiment and I don't think I can take much more of their abuse," Santana admits. She'd lost weight, her hair had lost its luster, she felt like she was dying and not in the dramatic way, but her strength was waning. Walking had become difficult, breathing hurt, and she smelt like death.

Charlie moved closer to Santana and gently placed a hand on her shoulder, "They've been getting sloppy. Maybe it's because we're the only two left and there's a good chance that the experiment is ending soon. But I noticed that they were bringing their personal things in with them in their lab coats." Charlie pulls out her recent ac So I've been working on taking their things, carefully and slowly." Charlie says as she pulled her latest acquisitions from her dirty pockets. A key card and a ring of keys that included some car keys. "We need to leave tonight, before they notice their stuff is missing. So, you need to rest Santana, rest cause we're getting out of here tonight when it's dark," Charlie promised.

Santana stared at the key card wondering how Charlie had managed to get her hands on it, but she remembered certain moments when Charlie tripped, falling onto their tormentors, and coughing and hacking in small fits. She'd thought Charlie was about to keel over and die, but she had seemingly made a quick miraculous recovery. "You picked their pockets?"

Charlie pulled back a bit, she was certain she could hear disapproval in Santana's voice. "It's not like I go around picking people's pockets, but it's a _good _skill to have," she says defensively.

"I'm not upset—I'm happy, we're getting out of here, I could kiss you right now." Santana says reaching to grip Charlie's hands tightly. They were getting out of here.

"Oh—I—" Charlie frowns at this before putting the key card and keys back in her dirty pockets, "Kiss me when we finally get free, and we're on our way back home," Charlie said with a shrug, Santana probably hadn't even meant it and it's not like she had been thinking about Santana in that way. She'd been considerably focused on getting them out of their current predicament. She moves towards her cot and sits down. She would need to rest as well. She needed to be able to go, and if they could find some sort of metal pipe they'd at least have a way to defend themselves.

Santana nods, suddenly feeling a surge of energy, as the excitement came in. She almost felt bad for doubting Charlie, she hadn't noticed that they had been getting sloppier and she certainly didn't have the skill to lift anything off them. When she was home it would be something that she'd invest some time and energy into. She wasn't going to die here. She was going home. She was going to see her parents again, and all these people would _pay_. Her mother would make them pay for the horrors that they had done here.

~O~

"_Jesus Fucking Christ!"_

Charlie sat up immediately when she heard Santana yell and reached for an imaginary bat of sorts, but there was nothing there and she is about to lunge at the intruder when she realizes that it's just the same scientists in a hazmat suit, she blinks it was dark and it was quite possible that they had overslept. "_Shit_," she mumbled, this was her fault she should have stayed awake and waited, but she had been exhausted. They'd never done this before, they usually left them alone at night, but this was _new_. And new generally meant that that it was almost a certainty that someone would die. She bit her lip, chewing on it for a moment, "Take me," she announces loudly causing them to turn and look at her. "Take me instead of her," she repeats.

"You're _both _going, we need the two of you," the scratchy voice from the hazmat suit replied.

Charlie scowled, she had hoped that Santana would be left behind and she could escape and get help. She wasn't sure how much longer the cheerleader would hold out. All these experiments did was leave her with a hollow feeling on the inside, they were chipping away at her humanity and there were many times where she thought about murdering every last one of her sadistic tormentors. Her thoughts were becoming more graphic with every passing day. "She's _exhausted_, she's not going to be much use to you. I'm fine. So, take me and let her rest," Charlie insists again.

Santana pulled against the restraints, she was surprised that Charlie was attempting to sacrifice herself but she wasn't going to leave the teen alone to face whatever shit-show they were going to put her through next. Not like they were going to give them a choice, she reaches for Charlie's hand taking it. "We're going to be okay. Remember? We're going to live." She tightened her grip around Charlie's hand hoping that it comforted her.

Charlie nods as she's grabbed roughly and dragged out of the cell, she doesn't kick and fight, she needs to conserve her energy and she's slightly concerned. Hazmat suits were _new_. The middle of the night was _new_, they were coming to the end game and she wasn't sure what that would mean for the both of them, but she needed to be ready. Though it's not until they pass what she assumed had once been the cafeteria that she realizes that they're going to an entirely new place. "Where are you taking us?" She's rewarded with a sharp blow on the back of the head.

"_Careful_, they're the last two specimens' and it's taken quite a bit of effort to get the singularity open to this point, the fact that they've even lasted this long is probably due to some random genetics and pure luck more than anything. This could be the breakthrough we've been looking for. I mean we'll have to find out _exactly_ why these two were able to survive the harsh conditions we put them through."

Charlie rubs her head and looks over at Santana, who had the same puzzled look on her face, which meant that she wasn't alone in being lost. She scowls and looks around making note of the staircase that they were forced down. She moves a step closer to Santana who reaches for her hand again, Charlie takes it holding it tightly. They would survive this. She needed to survive this.

Santana blinked as they entered the large brightly lit room and she gasped at the large—she didn't even know what it was she was looking at it. It looked like something out of one of those _stupid _video games, a large portal of sorts. "What the—"

"_Fuck_." Charlie whispered, finishing off Santana's sentence. She stared at the contraption in awe for a moment, wondering what the hell they had been forced into. She had thought they had been forcibly recruited into some strange drug trial. This was some science fiction shit that she never thought she'd see in her lifetime.

Santana stopped walking causing one of the scientists to slam into her, but she stood firm. "I'm not going in there." She insists immediately. That was what they were going to do throw them through the portal and watch what happened. There was no coming back from something like that. She's roughly shoved forward.

"Be honored, you're going to be like Neil Armstrong, the first humans to step foot through a singularity, you probably won't survive, none of the test animals have, the government is getting impatient. We needed to hurry along to human trials. Without volunteers we were forced to do some recruiting, your names will go down in the history books."

Charlie's lips twisted into a sneer, "Do you even know what our names are?" She questioned but the scientist in the hazmat suit ignores her and shoves her forward, towards the large machine. She stumbles towards it for a moment and looks at Santana. They probably _weren't _going to survive this.

"What are they going to do if we refuse?" Santana asks, they weren't armed or anything. At least not that she could see.

"Do you know how to fight?" Charlie asked seriously. She may be in pain but if Santana was ready to throw down then she would be willing to go out in a blaze of glory, but she wasn't going to waste her energy otherwise.

"No, but—" Santana swallowed she didn't want to die.

Charlie nods, "I'll be right beside you," she promises. She wouldn't die alone.

Santana frowns, feeling the tears beginning to pool once more, this was different, her body might be able to handle whatever they had done to her, it was clearly to prepare them for whatever this clusterfuck was. If they survived, they still had a way back home, Charlie still had a way. She just hoped that she would survive as well, she wasn't certain if she could escape by herself. Her body simply wasn't _up_ for it. The lights began to flicker and the singularity begins to expand slowly, a few scientists and what she assumed were engineers were working on it, till it looked like it was big enough for them to walk through. Santana grimaces when she feels a bit of a pulling sensation from the large rift, and watches as a few papers start flying in.

"Is it stabilization holding?"

"Barely, we need to make this a quick one before it collapses again, this could be our one test, both subjects need to enter the singularity _now_!" An engineer shouted as the keyboard he was using began to spark causing him to hop back. "_Hurry_!"

Charlie blinks and she's about to turn around with Santana, there was no way in hell they were walking through that thing and getting sucked to some alien dimension, she'd watched science fiction shit before. Wormholes or whatever this thing was, weren't _good_, "Maybe we should run," she muttered to Santana before two scientists in hazmat suits grab them, and Charlie notices that they've got a rope around their waist as they drag the two of them to the wormhole. She tries to fight him off but she's been surviving on crackers and water, and her strength fails her. She looks over at Santana who is now on the guy's shoulder watches helplessly as she's thrown in. "_Fuck_!" Charlie says rotating her body and running towards the singularity as fast as she can, and throwing herself into it, just as she hears a loud bang and her body is suddenly propelled faster into the weird space dimension.


	4. Part 01: Chapter 3

Santana wrapped her arms around herself tightly on the cot, trying to will her body to stop being in _pain_. Another biopsy without anesthetic had practically wiped her out, and she had no idea how much longer she could keep clinging to life. She was unsure if she was coming down with something or if the pain had finally managed to sap most of her strength. She looks over at Charlie who was pacing the cell, she'd been like that for the past twenty minutes, mumbling to herself. "How are you not tired?"

Charlie blinks and turns to look at Santana, a small smile flitting across her face, "We're leaving here. _Tonight_."

Santana shakes her head, wondering if she was truly alone now that Charlie had clearly lost her mind. "Are you delirious? How do you think we're going to do that? We've got nothing no weapons, we're stuck in this cell, I mean we've probably got a few days left, before they finish their experiment and I don't think I can take much more of their abuse," Santana admits. She'd lost weight, her hair had lost its luster, she felt like she was dying and not in the dramatic way, but her strength was waning. Walking had become difficult, breathing hurt, and she smelt like death.

Charlie moved closer to Santana and gently placed a hand on her shoulder, "They've been getting sloppy. Maybe it's because we're the only two left and there's a good chance that the experiment is ending soon. But I noticed that they were bringing their personal things in with them in their lab coats." Charlie pulls out her recent ac So I've been working on taking their things, carefully and slowly." Charlie says as she pulled her latest acquisitions from her dirty pockets. A key card and a ring of keys that included some car keys. "We need to leave tonight, before they notice their stuff is missing. So, you need to rest Santana, rest cause we're getting out of here tonight when it's dark," Charlie promised.

Santana stared at the key card wondering how Charlie had managed to get her hands on it, but she remembered certain moments when Charlie tripped, falling onto their tormentors, and coughing and hacking in small fits. She'd thought Charlie was about to keel over and die, but she had seemingly made a quick miraculous recovery. "You picked their pockets?"

Charlie pulled back a bit, she was certain she could hear disapproval in Santana's voice. "It's not like I go around picking people's pockets, but it's a _good _skill to have," she says defensively.

"I'm not upset—I'm happy, we're getting out of here, I could kiss you right now." Santana says reaching to grip Charlie's hands tightly. They were getting out of here.

"Oh—I—" Charlie frowns at this before putting the key card and keys back in her dirty pockets, "Kiss me when we finally get free, and we're on our way back home," Charlie said with a shrug, Santana probably hadn't even meant it and it's not like she had been thinking about Santana in that way. She'd been considerably focused on getting them out of their current predicament. She moves towards her cot and sits down. She would need to rest as well. She needed to be able to go, and if they could find some sort of metal pipe they'd at least have a way to defend themselves.

Santana nods, suddenly feeling a surge of energy, as the excitement came in. She almost felt bad for doubting Charlie, she hadn't noticed that they had been getting sloppier and she certainly didn't have the skill to lift anything off them. When she was home it would be something that she'd invest some time and energy into. She wasn't going to die here. She was going home. She was going to see her parents again, and all these people would _pay_. Her mother would make them pay for the horrors that they had done here.

~O~

"_Jesus Fucking Christ!"_

Charlie sat up immediately when she heard Santana yell and reached for an imaginary bat of sorts, but there was nothing there and she is about to lunge at the intruder when she realizes that it's just the same scientists in a hazmat suit, she blinks it was dark and it was quite possible that they had overslept. "_Shit_," she mumbled, this was her fault she should have stayed awake and waited, but she had been exhausted. They'd never done this before, they usually left them alone at night, but this was _new_. And new generally meant that that it was almost a certainty that someone would die. She bit her lip, chewing on it for a moment, "Take me," she announces loudly causing them to turn and look at her. "Take me instead of her," she repeats.

"You're _both _going, we need the two of you," the scratchy voice from the hazmat suit replied.

Charlie scowled, she had hoped that Santana would be left behind and she could escape and get help. She wasn't sure how much longer the cheerleader would hold out. All these experiments did was leave her with a hollow feeling on the inside, they were chipping away at her humanity and there were many times where she thought about murdering every last one of her sadistic tormentors. Her thoughts were becoming more graphic with every passing day. "She's _exhausted_, she's not going to be much use to you. I'm fine. So, take me and let her rest," Charlie insists again.

Santana pulled against the restraints, she was surprised that Charlie was attempting to sacrifice herself but she wasn't going to leave the teen alone to face whatever shit-show they were going to put her through next. Not like they were going to give them a choice, she reaches for Charlie's hand taking it. "We're going to be okay. Remember? We're going to live." She tightened her grip around Charlie's hand hoping that it comforted her.

Charlie nods as she's grabbed roughly and dragged out of the cell, she doesn't kick and fight, she needs to conserve her energy and she's slightly concerned. Hazmat suits were _new_. The middle of the night was _new_, they were coming to the end game and she wasn't sure what that would mean for the both of them, but she needed to be ready. Though it's not until they pass what she assumed had once been the cafeteria that she realizes that they're going to an entirely new place. "Where are you taking us?" She's rewarded with a sharp blow on the back of the head.

"_Careful_, they're the last two specimens' and it's taken quite a bit of effort to get the singularity open to this point, the fact that they've even lasted this long is probably due to some random genetics and pure luck more than anything. This could be the breakthrough we've been looking for. I mean we'll have to find out _exactly_ why these two were able to survive the harsh conditions we put them through."

Charlie rubs her head and looks over at Santana, who had the same puzzled look on her face, which meant that she wasn't alone in being lost. She scowls and looks around making note of the staircase that they were forced down. She moves a step closer to Santana who reaches for her hand again, Charlie takes it holding it tightly. They would survive this. She needed to survive this.

Santana blinked as they entered the large brightly lit room and she gasped at the large—she didn't even know what it was she was looking at it. It looked like something out of one of those _stupid _video games, a large portal of sorts. "What the—"

"_Fuck_." Charlie whispered, finishing off Santana's sentence. She stared at the contraption in awe for a moment, wondering what the hell they had been forced into. She had thought they had been forcibly recruited into some strange drug trial. This was some science fiction shit that she never thought she'd see in her lifetime.

Santana stopped walking causing one of the scientists to slam into her, but she stood firm. "I'm not going in there." She insists immediately. That was what they were going to do throw them through the portal and watch what happened. There was no coming back from something like that. She's roughly shoved forward.

"Be honored, you're going to be like Neil Armstrong, the first humans to step foot through a singularity, you probably won't survive, none of the test animals have, the government is getting impatient. We needed to hurry along to human trials. Without volunteers we were forced to do some recruiting, your names will go down in the history books."

Charlie's lips twisted into a sneer, "Do you even know what our names are?" She questioned but the scientist in the hazmat suit ignores her and shoves her forward, towards the large machine. She stumbles towards it for a moment and looks at Santana. They probably _weren't _going to survive this.

"What are they going to do if we refuse?" Santana asks, they weren't armed or anything. At least not that she could see.

"Do you know how to fight?" Charlie asked seriously. She may be in pain but if Santana was ready to throw down then she would be willing to go out in a blaze of glory, but she wasn't going to waste her energy otherwise.

"No, but—" Santana swallowed she didn't want to die.

Charlie nods, "I'll be right beside you," she promises. She wouldn't die alone.

Santana frowns, feeling the tears beginning to pool once more, this was different, her body might be able to handle whatever they had done to her, it was clearly to prepare them for whatever this clusterfuck was. If they survived, they still had a way back home, Charlie still had a way. She just hoped that she would survive as well, she wasn't certain if she could escape by herself. Her body simply wasn't _up_ for it. The lights began to flicker and the singularity begins to expand slowly, a few scientists and what she assumed were engineers were working on it, till it looked like it was big enough for them to walk through. Santana grimaces when she feels a bit of a pulling sensation from the large rift, and watches as a few papers start flying in.

"Is it stabilization holding?"

"Barely, we need to make this a quick one before it collapses again, this could be our one test, both subjects need to enter the singularity _now_!" An engineer shouted as the keyboard he was using began to spark causing him to hop back. "_Hurry_!"

Charlie blinks and she's about to turn around with Santana, there was no way in hell they were walking through that thing and getting sucked to some alien dimension, she'd watched science fiction shit before. Wormholes or whatever this thing was, weren't _good_, "Maybe we should run," she muttered to Santana before two scientists in hazmat suits grab them, and Charlie notices that they've got a rope around their waist as they drag the two of them to the wormhole. She tries to fight him off but she's been surviving on crackers and water, and her strength fails her. She looks over at Santana who is now on the guy's shoulder watches helplessly as she's thrown in. "_Fuck_!" Charlie says rotating her body and running towards the singularity as fast as she can, and throwing herself into it, just as she hears a loud bang and her body is suddenly propelled faster into the weird space dimension.


	5. Part 01: Chapter 4

Santana gasped, inhaling deeply as she struggled to find out where she was, but she couldn't _see_, and for a horrible moment she thought she had lost her vision. But when she turns around and sees what appears to be a light coming from where she had entered, she realized that the place that she was in had no light. She's about to make her way back to the light but her movement feels _off_, like she's treading water in a pool but there is no water. She kicks aimlessly for a moment before she gets her bearings, just as she feels the air around her quake. It's an odd experience as she's knocked off balance and she barely gets a glimpse of a body being flung from the light. _Charlie_. It had to be, none of the other scientists would enter with them, not without their fancy hazmat suits. She begins to move slowly in the direction Charlie had been thrown, as the light suddenly disappears, leaving her in complete darkness.

She needed to find Charlie, it was touching that Charlie had done something stupid and reckless, but from what she had seen she had been flung farther than she had been, and she begins to kick her legs hoping that it propels her to where Charlie had landed. "Charlie!" She yells out as loud as she can, but even in her own ears it sounds _muffled_. Charlie probably couldn't hear her yelling or screaming, and if she was still alive, but she needed to see for herself. She just keeps moving, ignoring how her lungs start to burn for air, which she assumed was in short supply in this place, and the exhaustion that she had felt going in is only compounded. Every action she takes seems to drain her energy even more, even if she doesn't feel the pain at this exact moment. She grimaces and continues to move forward before the light source appears once again, flickering but it's enough for her to glimpse a body just _floating_ or lying there, she wasn't sure which and she moves faster, taking a deep breath of air before the light once again flickers out. She just needed to keep moving, and hope that there wasn't something _living_ in this dimension. She'd seen enough movies to know that they were probably fucked.

The light source flickers on again and she looks up to see that the body is considerably closer than it had been and she reaches for it as the light flickers out again, "Charlie!" she tries again, but the sound was still muffled, and she twists her body around reaching blindly, for Charlie's arm. They would just need to head back to the light and everything would be okay. She could only _pray _that everything would be okay. She takes another breath of air and pushes herself forward only to collide with the body. She touches it and shakes it before the light flashes once more and she realizes that it's just a dead body—probably some poor soul that they tried to do before this. They had mentioned that it had failed with other animals and she doubted they were the _first _humans they had thrown in here. She scrambles back and looks around, she needed to get to the light she needed to get out of here. But she also needed to find Charlie.

She looks around once again, the light is now flickering back and forth and she doubts that she has long. She begins to move towards it slowly looking around. "Charlie—" She screams in terror as the light flashes and Charlie had appeared in front of her. At least she hopes it's Charlie from what she can see, from the amount of light. "Charlie?" It was still muffled, but the figure nods or at least she hopes it's a nod, maybe she could hear her though sound clearly different travel that far.

The figure nods toward the light and they began to make their way to it, going as fast as they can despite the fact that they aren't travelling that far. At least it doesn't seem like it. The light flashes again, a few feet away from them and they redouble their efforts before it flickers out. Leaving them in the dark. They just had to wait for it to light back up again, whatever they were doing hadn't been stable but they were almost _free_.

But the seconds quickly turn into minutes, and time starts to stretch as the oxygen that had been sucked into this place begins to run out. It's only that they realize that there may not be another way out and they were going to _suffocate_. Santana's eyes water, or perhaps it's just a result of her eyes drying out as the air around them runs out but she can't help but reach for Charlie's hand.

"_Wm'rm ghnng th lnvm_."

It takes her a moment to realize what Charlie is saying, and she can't help but smile even if it's pointless, they were going to live, repeating it like a mantra wasn't going to make it so. But she finally finds Charlie's hand and grips it tightly feeling Charlie squeeze her hand, at least they'd go out together. They had given it a—

Light suddenly explodes around them, nearly blinding them with the sudden change from light to dark as they see the prison that they were in, the scientists scrambling around as things were being pulled into the dimension. A keyboard whizzes by Santana's head before a computer flies inside the dimension followed by a screaming scientist. She ducks twisting her body out of the way as Charlie moves to throw her body over hers.

The contact caused an immediate pulling reaction around the two of them as light began to grow and things began from their dimension started to get sucked inside the singularity, bouncing off an air shell that seemed to have formed around them.

Charlie tightens her hold as she feels an immediate repulsion trying to force the two of them apart but she clings to Santana if she let go now, she wasn't sure what was going to happen if Santana would be lost in this dimension forever. But the force that seemed to be pushing them apart was too strong and she's forced to let go, watching as Santana was propelled away from her and through the light. She grimaces as she flung towards the darkness and closes her eyes, she was going to die in here. But at least Santana would get out, at least Santana would be able to tell Quinn she went out like a hero. She grimaces when her body slams against something hard, bouncing her off it as some light appears around her, spitting her back into their reality.


	6. Part 01: Chapter 5

Santana groaned, as she pushed herself up, feeling the rubble that had been on top of her hit the ground around her. Her head pounded like a drum. She rubs her eye as she looks around, half expecting to be back in the damn cell, but she _wasn't_. In fact, it takes her a moment to realize she was sitting in what had once been their top-secret lab or whatever the place was. The machine that had tried to contain the singularity had clearly exploded or _something_, there were charred, melted parts just hanging off the support beams, that continued to spark in an unnerving fashion. She looks around but the scientists and engineers appear to be gone for _now._ "_Fuck_." She mutters under her breath, how was she supposed to get home?

There's a loud bang that causes her to jump and to reach for a piece of rubble, ready to use it as a weapon as the door to the room begins to rattle for a moment before there's another loud bang. The door suddenly slams open and Charlie tumbles forward her body hitting the ground.

Santana stared in shock for a moment before dropping the rock and crawling over to the teenager, "Charlie?" She reaches for her gently and winces at the sticky drying blood that's on the back of her neck, "_Shit_," she mutters, looking around for a first aid kit, but the entire room looked like a twister had hit. Tables that had been bolted down had been ripped out of the ground and were leaning against cracked walls. "Come on, you said we were going to live, you _promised_ and I can't do this alone." Santana says shaking her gently.

"_Ow_."

Santana grins as Charlie stirs and slowly pushes herself up. She waits for a moment until Charlie's seated before launching herself at her hugging her tightly. "We did it."

"Ow. _Ow._ _Ow_!" Charlie winces trying to shy away from Santana's touch, everything hurt. It felt like she was one giant bruise, but she can't help but smile and toss an arm around Santana hugging her back. They _had _lived. She begins with a small chuckle at first before it morphs into a laugh they had _lived_.

Santana laughs with her, feeling a surge of adrenaline that she hadn't been aware was left in her body, they _were _free. She can't even help herself as she grabs Charlie's face gently and brings her lips to it, kissing her deeply.

Charlie's body goes rigid for a moment, her eyes widening she had thought Santana had been joking _mostly_. She kisses back out of habit, and she doesn't quite know what possessed her to continue on with the kiss, but her lips are soft and she's a surprisingly good kisser. It felt right, at this moment it _felt _like it was just the two of them in the world. It felt _amazing_, her hands move as if on their own and she moves quickly, she needed _more _of this right now. All the hell that they'd been through, she _needed_ something good, she can't help but reach for Santana's shirt wanting—_needing _more.

Feeling Charlie's hands on her breast is enough to get Santana to stop, and gently put a hand on Charlie's. "Not here," she mumbles against Charlie's lips. It wasn't a no, but she could feel something brewing between them and she wanted to explore it, just not _here_. The pull, she could feel it between them.

"Yeah," Charlie mumbles back before blinking and pulling away, her cheeks flushing for a moment as she looks around. "Yeah, we need to get out of here, before more of them come, if they do come." Charlie says as she pushes herself up and helps Santana up. She glances at her hand, it felt like there was _electricity_ that just ran through them. They had just gone through something traumatic together, that was probably the reason why she felt the connection between them.

Santana nods and glances at Charlie's hand for a moment, deciding not to let it go for now, "So how are we going to get out of here? I don't think that the key cards are going to work. I'm pretty sure the power is gone. The key card won't work I don't think."

Charlie picks up a piece of rebar with some concrete hanging off it, a proper weapon in case she needed to use it. "We'll think of something, we've survived, we can get out of some shitty prison now that we're free." Charlie says as she frees her hand from Santana's so she can pull out the keys, but she quickly takes Santana's hand in hers. "We'll get out of here."

"I believe you, I mean you were right about all of this. That we'd live, I mean this shit who is going to believe us?"

"We can't tell anyone what happened here," Charlie says immediately as they head towards the door and open it, she pokes her head out through the hall and pulls Santana with her as she enters the hall, there was an exit sign that was on, maybe they could use it to get out of here.

"What do you mean we can't tell anyone? We were kidnapped! 98 teenagers _died_, there will be senate hearings about this shit. We've been gone for _weeks_, how are you going to explain that to your _parents_?"

"My mother's dead, my dad probably thinks I ran away because he's an alcoholic jackass who enjoys using me as a punching bag," Charlie responds before turning to look at Santana, who flushed at her words. She shrugs, "It's no big deal really, I'd rather him do it to me then do it to Quinn, he did pick on her till she lost all that weight," Charlie says licking her lips as she darts down the hallway with Santana in tow.

"I didn't—it's a big deal. He's your _dad_—we survived this and you're going back _to that_?" Santana says as she stops.

"The alternative being back here? I got arrested by the cops, they took me here. What you're going to tell the cops? Most of these kids were _runaways_, this is some deep state government conspiracy shit Santana, we can't _trust_ them. We can't trust the government for anything, and I bet you that if you do take them back here it'll be cleaned up and they'll say you ran away or something and made the whole thing up. You'll be labelled a liar, people will make up shit about you. Then who knows, maybe the government wants us back to run further tests."

Santana hesitated for a moment, Charlie was making good points. Excellent points, she hadn't given it much thought. "My mom's a _prosecutor_, she'll believe me. I've never done shit like this before, she'll get us justice."

"Or lose her job, and silenced, they _killed _98 teenagers for some strange tests," Charlie points out. "Clearly, they have no problem with killing people, or murder, or whatever this shit was. I can't stop you from telling anyone, but you need to think about it and wonder if it's worth it."

"They just get to get away with it?"

"No. They won't, we'll get them back whoever they are. Maybe not now, but we will get them back." Charlie promises.

Santana narrowed her eyes, she wanted to believe that but she knew how it worked. Unless there was evidence no one would believe them. There was a very good chance that there wouldn't be any _justice_ for them. "You're right. You're probably right," Her shoulders slump slightly as they spot a door that she could only pray led them outside. Charlie pushes the door open and it flies open causing them to stare as the cool air hit them in the face. Tears spring to her eyes but she quickly rubs them away as she takes a step outside with Charlie right there beside her. "You know you can put down the weapon."

Charlie looked at her makeshift club for a moment before shaking her head. "I will once we're inside a car or something. Haven't you ever watched a horror movie before?"

Santana rolled her eyes, but pulled Charlie along into the open taking a deep breath. She was feeling better already and she looks over at Charlie. "There are no _zombies_."

"I'm not worried about zombies, I'm worried about shitty scientists trying to fucking kill us or drag us back to that hellhole." Charlie sniffs but smiles dropping the rebar onto the ground.

"I think they're all dead," Santana says looking back at the building, most of the windows had been blown out and she hadn't _seen _anyone. In fact, the place looked like it was about to fall.

"Joy, undead scientists," Charlie said as she fiddles with the key and pushes the panic button on the car key. A loud horned filled the area and she quickly ends it by pushing the panic button again. If there was someone still alive they didn't want to alert them to their presence. "Come on let's go home."

Santana nods as they walk to the parking lot and waits for Charlie to press the keys, noting that it's a large truck that lights up. "Okay, so we still don't know where we are," she points out turning to look at Charlie who was holding the keys out for her. "Why are you giving me this?"

"I don't know how to drive yet," Charlie admits. "I mean I can practice, but Quinn mentioned you drove a fancy car."

"Oh," Santana flushes. "It wasn't really a fancy car, just one of those mini-coopers."

"Like in the Italian Job?"

Santana blinked, "Yeah, that's one of my favorite movies—my dad asked and I said I wanted it. That may seem spoiled—"

"Does it have a racing stripe?"

"Yes."

"Cool!" Charlie grins, before shaking the keys. "Come on, it looks new so maybe it has a GPS or something."

Santana takes them, as they move to the car, Charlie sliding into the passenger seat as she pulls herself into the driver's seat. Almost immediately she begins to adjust the seat and the mirrors, pushing it up and forward as much as it could go, glad that it was one of those power seats before glancing over at Charlie who was opening the glove compartment, before turning her attention to the radio. "Seatbelt."

Charlie grimaces but does as Santana asks putting on her seatbelt as Santana starts the car. "Look at that our luck's finally going our way." She says as the map icon shows up, and she presses it. "What's your address?"

Santana glances at the map for a moment before reaching and typing it in herself, her hands were shaking they were going home. The GPS begins to search for a route and she reaches to touch Charlie's hand. "I couldn't have done this without you."

Charlie studies the hand on hers for a moment, she'd done this song and dance before with other people but she had never really felt the _pull_ like she did with Santana. "I wasn't going to leave you behind, you promised you'd make Quinn popular, and I don't think she can do it on her own," she says finally pulling her hand away. She needed to play it _cool_.

"I will I just—"

'_You will reach your destination in thirteen hours_.'

Santana turned to look at the GPS, it seemed that their _luck _had just run out. "Thirteen hours?"

"I think it's rounding up, how's the gas tank do you think we could make it one trip?"

Santana grimaces and shakes her head, they were already at half a tank and she doubted this thing was good at conserving gas, even with the _eco_ button.

Charlie scowls a bit and opens up the arm rest, before grinning and pulling out a few twenty-dollar bills, "We'll fill up, and then get something to eat with whatever's left."

Santana winced, it was only sixty dollars, she wasn't sure how much this behemoth cost to fill up but they were probably not eating for the next eight hours. But Charlie seemed ecstatic with the little money they had and she didn't want to burst her bubble. "Alright, we're going home." She said as she reversed carefully and put the car in drive.

"Make sure you follow the speed limit—"

"Gee, thanks _mom_." Santana interrupts. "Shush no backseat driving."

"I'm just saying we're in a _stolen _car and you don't have a license," Charlie reminded her.

Santana rolled her eyes, she wasn't stupid. Instead she changes the subject. "You're right about not telling anyone and honestly I just want to _forget this_. But what do I tell them. The cops I mean, and the reporters and anyone else."

"You don't remember. They did _drug _us, there is probably some drugs in our system. At least that's how it works on tv," Charlie points out. "I'm sure they'll try and get you to talk to a therapist so just make some stuff up about how you were locked away, how they did things to you hurt you. As much truth as possible, without letting them know that you were in an illegal experiment. At least that's what I'd say if I was in your shoes."

Santana nods leaning forward to squint as she watches the road carefully, it wasn't a _normal _paved road but she didn't want to _hit _anything or anyone. "Are you going to tell Quinn?'

"Yes, she's my twin. We don't have _secrets_ from one another. If you're going to tell someone and you probably should—talk about it. You should do it with someone you trust."

"I trust you."

"You shouldn't."

"You jumped into a portal for me. And you—you're probably the _only_ one that knows. I think, if you don't want to talk about it—I mean I won't but you have someone you trust and you're right we can't trust _anyone _but each other with this shit."

Charlie reaches for Santana's hand and places her hand on it gently. "I'm going to find the people who did this to us, who _ordered _it. And I'm going to get justice for _everyone_. Noah, Lauren—everyone, I'm going to get justice for them."

"We'll get justice for them, you're not the only one who wants to make them _pay _for what they did to us," Santana promises as they finally reach what appears to be a paved road. She follows the directions until she manages to join up with a freeway. She glances down and realizes that Charlie's hand is still on hers and she looks relaxed. After everything that they had been through, they were _going _home.


	7. Part 01: Chapter 6

"You didn't really need to lift that guy's wallet," Santana says as she flicks her eyes at Charlie who was going through the wallet. "Where did you even _learn _that skill anyway?"

"I hang out with people that parents tell their children to stay away from," Charlie answers as she tosses the wallet onto the backseat of the car. "I'd like to say that they're good people, but I realize that learning how to lift a wallet and pick some locks isn't exactly '_wholesome_' skills."

"I'm not complaining, but that guy didn't _do _anything to us, it feels wrong," Santana shrugs. She really could _go _for a meal, and a small break. Charlie had been the one leaving the car, and getting everything that they needed. She had filled the tank, stolen a few candy bars from the gas station. She'd even lifted the guy's wallet so that they could get a proper meal, and still have some money left over, just in case.

Charlie points at the Cracker Barrel, "Let's get something from there and relax in the parking lot for a bit, we've been driving for _hours_, and you've still got four hours left." She unbuckles her seatbelt, "What do you want?"

"I'll get whatever you're getting?" She asks watching as Charlie nods, and hops out of the truck. "And a coke." She feels something, worry, terror that something was going to happen. She had felt it before when Charlie was gone for a few minutes and the anxiety was coming back with a vengeance.

Charlie stops and reaches for Santana's hand gently, "We're safe, we're almost home. I'm just going to get us food. Okay? I promise I'm not going to lift any wallets or anything, but I'm coming back."

"Yeah, it's just—don't you feel it to?" Santana asks.

Charlie hesitates for a moment before nodding. She's about to say something when her stomach growls loudly. She looks at Santana who laughs, "Come on. Let's go together."

Santana shakes her head, "There's no way that I won't be recognized—and look at us, it's probably okay for you but we're filthy."

Charlie rolled her eyes and reached for a jacket that was in the back seat and tosses it at Santana. "Wear it and keep the hood up. We'll be fine, we're almost home, and we need to _savor _our freedom. You need to escape that prisoner mindset Santana."

Santana hesitates, before taking the jacket and putting it on, it was baggy on her, but she could totally make this work. She slips the hood on, before sliding out of the car surprised that Charlie had managed to make her way around the car. "Alright, let's go. But we shouldn't _stay_ long."

"Obviously," Charlie said reaching towards Santana's hand and taking it in hers. She felt the anxiety too, but she couldn't just _say_ it. Having Santana with her would be nice and maybe they could relax for a bit. It didn't seem that anyone was chasing after them. She glances at Santana again, trying to be as discreet as possible. She wasn't _used_ to feeling this _close_ to anyone other than Quinn and it was unnerving. But it felt _right_ at the same time. They had just been through _hell _together; the feeling would probably pass with time.

Santana leans against Charlie as they walk in, and ignores the stares that a few people shoot their way. This was just a nice meal between _friends_ —no they were certainly more than that. What they had gone through together, they were definitely more than friends. She glances at the hostess, who was studying them carefully. "Seats for two please."

The hostess sighs and nods, hoping that the two of them could actually _pay_ for their meals but moves them to a secluded spot near the back.

Santana blinks and looks at the little wooden triangle on the table, "What's this?"

"It's the _peg _game—you've never played the peg game before?" Charlie asks crinkling her nose. "Here let me show you how it works," she says as she moves a peg, jumping over another peg to an empty spot. She removes the peg she jumped over and looks at Santana. "See, the point is to make sure that there's only one peg left."

"So—like checkers?"

"I guess, but nowhere near as cool."

"Can I try?"

Charlie pushes the little game towards Santana who picks up a peg and jumps over another one. Charlie watches as Santana moves methodically, jumping a peg and then removing it. It doesn't take long until there are only two pegs left and Santana glances up at her. "You've never played this game before?"

"Nope, I played checkers with my Abuela before she died though. Every Sunday right after church, she used to beat me all the time. I got good at it I guess." She pushes the game back at Charlie who jumps the last peg and removes it. "Did you go here a lot?"

"When my mom was still alive, happier times. At least it felt like it, I know it's not like the fanciest place—"

"I'm okay with that. I'm _okay _with this, honestly anything is better than where we've been for the last few weeks," Santana says quickly. "I mean it's not like my parents dined at the fanciest place, I mean yeah they can afford tuition and I have my own car, but that doesn't make me _different_. I'm still human too." Santana flushes when she notices that she has Charlie's attention completely. "So, what's good here?"

"I'm getting a burger, I've been craving one, but the chicken fried steak is also good," Charlie says.

"I'll get one of those then," Santana says closing the menu and looking at Charlie, who started to arrange the pegs in a color coordinated way. "What are you doing."

"We're going to play against each other. Winner gets—I don't know but they get something." Charlie nods as she finishes and looks at Santana. "You go first."

Santana flashes Charlie a smile and reaches to touch the red pegs and quickly jumps it over a blue peg. Her fingers linger for a moment as Charlie's hand touches hers and she can feel the sparks, fly. It couldn't _just _be her. Charlie _had _to feel it too. "Don't complain when I kick your butt," she says after Charlie makes her own move.

Charlie snorted at this and leaned forward, she'd show Santana who was best.

~O~

"Uh excuse me."

Charlie flicked her eyes to the waitress for a moment, a scowl on her face at the fact that she had interrupted a story that Santana was telling her. She had _no _idea who the people were that Santana had mentioned but it was interesting nonetheless. "Yes?"

"It's fifteen minutes to eleven and you've been here for hours, and we just wanted to let you know that we're closing up. You're going to need to pay—please tell me you have money," the waitress said, a hopeful tone in her voice. "The manager wanted to keep you out earlier."

Charlie frowned at the implication that they would just dine and dash but she reaches into her pockets and pulls out the money and places it on the table. She had lifted another wallet on her short trip to the bathroom earlier, taken as much cash as she could and returned it before the woman had noticed. "That should cover it right?" She asks.

The waitress sweeps the money aside and nods, there was nearly a hundred dollars on the table, "I'll be right back with your change, and a receipt."

Santana nods and looks outside for a moment, before standing up suddenly. "Charlie it's _dark_. We were only supposed to get a meal here, we weren't supposed to spend hours!"

Charlie picked up the small pegboard and glanced at their plates, she had lost track of time too, but at least she _felt _relaxed. "Did you have fun?"

"Yeah but—"

"That's all that matters then, we deserve it. Just a day, you've still got a long way to drive Santana, and yeah, I know you want to sleep in your bed, and you want to see your parents—but I think we needed this so we aren't some a mess when we see the people that are important to us," Charlie insists reaching to calm Santana down. She pulls her fingers back after a moment when she feels that spark between them.

"I know but we spent a _whole _day here, and I don't think I can drive all night. I know we don't have enough money for a hotel, or even one of those sketchy motels that look like they're infested with bed bugs. You know those pay by the hour type places. You can't drive either—"

"We'll sleep in the truck."

"What?"

"We'll sleep in the truck, you rest, and when you're up for it we can finally get home. I mean we can push the chairs back or something, it's got to be far more comfortable than those shitty cots we've been sleeping on."

Santana rolled her eyes, Charlie was obviously being optimistic but they had few options. And she didn't feel like asking for Charlie to lift another wallet so that they could stay at some sketchy motel. "Okay, maybe we should go around the building you know head to the back so we can get a bit of privacy."

"That works, I'll keep first watch, just to be safe, I can sleep when you're driving."

"Can you actually? I can't remember the last time I had _a proper _night's sleep, I can't stop thinking about everything we've been through."

"Your receipt."

Charlie blinks and turns to the waitress before taking the receipt and the change, before leaving with Santana. "You need to rest Santana, I'd drive us back but I don't know how to, and we've come so far, me accidentally killing us isn't how I plan on going out."

"So, it is _just _me," Santana says swallowing. Did that mean she was weak? How could Charlie not—be haunted. When she still closed her eyes, she could still see those dead teenagers.

"It's not just you, but we only just got out of there, and I'm more focused on getting home. I just want to go home Santana. That's all I've been thinking about, it's all I _can _think about. Because thinking of those things—I don't think that my sanity can take it." Charlie mumbles.

Santana nods, that made sense, she just needed to focus on something else. She'd spent the entire afternoon and evening with Charlie, and she hadn't once thought of how dirty she was, or how scared she was that scientists were going to pop through the doors and arrest them. Charlie had been the driving force behind them keeping her entertained and feeling—_something_. She wasn't quite sure what it was, though her mind did fall back on the kiss that they had shared earlier. Charlie had wanted more, and she had felt the desire as well, despite the fact she had never been with anyone else before.

There was _something _there. There just had to be, and she was determined to find out what exactly it was, as they finally get to the car. She waits until Charlie turns to look at her, expecting her to open the door, before she leans in and kisses the blonde, pushing her against the truck. There was definitely _fireworks_.

It takes Charlie a moment to realize that they were continuing what they had started before and she moves so she can pin Santana against the car, deepening the kiss hungrily. She had tried to purge this from her mind with little success, it was hard not to think about it and to not simply stare at her lips. She breaks away from Santana for a moment, they were out in the open. "Inside?" She mumbles against Santana's lips.

Santana unlocks the car door and allows Charlie to pull her to the passenger seat where she immediately brings the seat down, to give them a comfortable surface to work with. It takes a moment before they're inside and the doors closed before they're kissing once more. It's only when Charlie's hand goes under her shirt, touching her breast, that she realizes that this is _actually_ going to happen. She was going to lose her virginity in a pickup truck, outside of Cracker Barrel, there was probably some cheesy country song about this. She groans as Charlie begins to kiss her neck. She needed to be honest, but it was difficult with everything she was feeling to get the words out. "I—I've never done this before," she mumbles to Charlie who stops for a moment.

"Do you want me to—"

"No! _Please_, don't stop, I want this," Santana insists. "I just don't know what to do."

Charlie gazes at Santana for a moment, "If you need me to stop—"

"Don't."

It's all the permission she needs, if it was Santana's first time then she was going to make it fucking wonderful. Santana deserved _her best_, and she would make sure that Santana would never forget her, or their first time together. She adjusts herself underneath Santana for a moment to get a better angle as her free hand slides down the front of Santana's pants, as Santana leans in breaking her moan with another deep kiss. Charlie responds, trying to ignore the fact that for the first time in a _long _time, the little black hole that she called a _heart_ was being filled with something, and she wasn't quite sure what to make of it.

~O~

Santana shifts in her seat, enjoying the pleasant buzz that she felt. She suddenly understood why everyone was so into sex. She had never expected it to feel that good, and even though she still felt personally gross, and grimy, Charlie had made her feel like she was the most beautiful girl in the world. She certainly wouldn't be using her hand anytime soon. She reaches for Charlie's seat half expecting to touch her and maybe get her to do it again, but she just feels the leather seats. It's enough to get her to sit up immediately. Her heart sinking as she stared at the empty seat.

The anxiety also came roaring back as her heart began to thud in her chest. She swallows and looks around the parking lot for a moment. Charlie wouldn't have just abandoned her—after everything they've been through—

There's a loud banging on the window behind her and she turns to see Charlie sitting in the bed of the pick-up truck, coffee in her hand with a small bag of what she assumed was food. Her stomach growls and she immediately moves to get out of the car, adjusting her clothes as she steps outside and moves to join Charlie on the bed of the pick-up truck.

"Sorry, I went to get you breakfast. I didn't know if you liked coffee or tea, so I got both for you, and I got two different breakfast sandwiches, one that has bacon and one that has ham, and I also got us some candy for the road."

"Candy?"

"Yeah jawbreakers, fudge, jelly beans, I kind of got a bit of everything—" Charlie says opening the bag, she looks up just as Santana's lips crash against hers. She deepens the kiss for a moment before pulling away. She clears her throat, "We should—"

"We should," Santana agrees.

Charlie swallows, she certainly hadn't gotten Santana out of her system yet and even though she _knew _better she went in and kissed Santana again. Just a few more minutes wouldn't hurt.


	8. Part 01: Chapter 7

"Do you know where you were? What I mean by that were there any landmarks that you can remember?"

"No," Santana answered truthfully, keeping her face neutral as she was questioned by the police officer. It had been like this for the past hour, after she'd come home. She'd been forced to ring the doorbell and wait for her parents to come to her. "I don't remember anything," Santana repeats for the umpteenth time trying not to think about her last conversation with Charlie.

'_We probably aren't going to see each other for a long time you know. Your parents probably won't let you out of their sight. They'll probably be suspicious of anyone new. And we don't know who was in charge of our experiment, maybe they know we escaped. I don't know, but we should probably go our separate ways. Remember the best lies have some truth to them.'_

"Santana—mija, I know it's difficult but can you remember anything? He's still out there, do you know what he looked like? Did he—"

Santana looked at her mother, who still had tears in her eyes, the distance between them bothered her but the police had insisted that she do this alone. The questioning could have waited, "They wore surgical masks, and medical scrubs, they had lab coats most of the time." Santana says after a moment looking at the police officers. "They were careful not to say any names in front of me. "There wasn't anything _sexual_, or anything I don't think. They drugged me, they took my blood," Santana says as she rolls up her sleeve.

"They were _experimenting_ on you?" Miguel swallows.

Santana nods, "They gave me a spinal tap—it hurt papi," she says forcing herself to choke up on the words, and distance that her parents were giving her immediately ends as her father rushes to hold her. She winces in pain and he loosened his hold. It was nothing to the hollowness she felt right now. Nothing hurt more than what she was feeling emotionally right now. And how alone she felt.

'_Look, I mean the only way I can see you normally is if you and Quinn become friends, but what we have right now. I mean the sex, I mean it's nice and all but we shouldn't be doing that, at most we should be acquaintances. You go on to conquer the world, and I go back and end up working for Quinn one day. But you're going places, you'll be okay Santana. I'm sure your parents will get you to see someone and you should see them or whatever, and you know talk about this shit._'

Except she only wanted to talk about what had happened with Charlie. No one else had survived, there wasn't some stupid support group she could join. They only had each other and she wasn't sure what this meant for Charlie.

"I think she needs to take a break, you can ask her more questions tomorrow, or whenever she feels up for it," Maribel said immediately to the police officers.

"The information is still—"

"They had my daughter for nearly _two _months, from the sounds of it they experimented on her. She needs food, she's lost a tremendous amount of weight, she needs a bath, she needs—"

"There may be evidence on her clothes," the police officer protests. "She might be covered in evidence."

Santana tunes them out, she had known this was going to happen, and she was glad that her mother was being her advocate right now. She was mentally and emotionally exhausted, and she _wished_ for some normalcy. She wished that Charlie was here, doing the talking and explaining to the police what had happened to them, but there was a good chance that she'd _never_ see her again. She licks her dry lips for a moment, Charlie had kissed her once again, maybe it was a farewell one, but she missed her touch against her skin.

"_Mija_, are you okay?"

Santana flicks her eyes to her father and forces a small smile onto her face, she hoped it looked like she was trying to be brave. It seems to work as her father holds her tightly against him, "I'm okay papi," she promises.

"They'll find them, the people that hurt you, I swear."

"_Papi_," Santana stressed, she didn't want to talk about it.

"We're going to need her clothes," the detective repeated again.

"Do you want her to step out of her clothes right now? Let me go run her a bath, and let her strip out of it in private, you can get her clothes then and only then. She's the _victim_." Maribel snapped at them. She moves to her daughter and gently takes her by the arm. "Let's go, I'll be right there."

Santana nods mutely, she can't even begin to unpack what they're saying maybe she had given them enough to work on that they actually find the prison and figure out what happened. But she didn't care, Charlie didn't have a _phone_ that she could call, or anything and she missed her terribly. She felt pathetic, and it had nothing to do with what had been done to her.

~O~

Charlie pushed the door to her house open, frowning at the mess that was on the floor. Empty beer cans, cracked glass bottles. Quinn had probably been spending all of her time in her room or at the library to stay away from him, and she grimaces as she bends down to start cleaning up. She heads to one of the cupboards and starts to pick up the bottles first, carefully putting each piece of broken glass into the empty beer case before picking up the beer cans. It doesn't take her long to get everything in order before she heads to the living room. She's not surprised to find her father passed out in his filthy underwear. She crinkles her nose at the sight, before shaking her head and heading to her room. She needed a shower and then she needed to find her bike so she could go and find Quinn instead of thinking of Santana.

Santana was _dangerous_, she threatened to upend everything she had worked for. Addiction ran in the family, and Santana was as potent as any drug. Staying away was the smart thing to do. Though if Santana didn't keep her damn promises, she'd have to show up and have a conversation about it and try _not _to kiss her face again.

Charlie grimaced, she had a problem, and she wasn't sure how Santana had managed to get under her skin like that. She wasn't even sure it had anything to do with the fact that they had been tortured together. She had thrown herself into the _void_ for her. She heads to her room frowning when she spots the light under the doorway. She moves quietly and slowly opens the door, ready to punch whoever was in her room as hard as she could.

"Charlie?"

Charlie froze for a moment, before a smile slowly crossed her face, as she looked at her twin who lunged from where she had been reading on her bed onto her. "_Quinn_," she mumbles relaxing completely. "I thought I'd never see you again," Charlie said holding her tightly.

"Where the hell have you been?" Quinn says pulling away from Charlie so she could take a look at her. "You _smell_. I thought you said you weren't going to run away. Everyone's been looking for you."

Charlie studies Quinn for a moment, before pulling her into a tight hug, "I would never abandon you willingly—it's a long story. I just—"

"Did it have something to do with Santana Lopez's disappearance?" Quinn demands watching as Charlie's eyes widened. "She disappeared on the same day you did I mean everyone's been looking for her. You didn't do something stupid, did you? Like kill her and hide her body somewhere?"

Charlie blinked before flashing her a sly smile, "She should be treating you a lot better now."

Quinn stared at her twin. "Charlie, you _didn't_."

"I didn't hurt her, the opposite really," Charlie scratches her chin and grimaces at the amount of grime that's sticking to her body. "I really need a shower—"

"You _slept with Santana_! What about Dani—" Quinn stares baffled, she had known her twin was sexually active. "You can shower later, sit down and explain yourself. Start from where the fuck you were?"

Charlie sighed for a moment before sliding to the ground and sitting on the ground, making herself comfortable. She had debated on whether she had wanted to share the shit show that had been her life for the past two months. She hadn't wanted to tell anyone, but she can't help herself. She tells everything, starting from when she was dragged into the back of a cop car, and everything she had seen and felt. Her tone was flat as she recounted when her original cell mates had died one by one. How she had been subjected to massive amounts of pain. She even tells her about the singularity, the only time emotion flits onto her face is when she mentions Santana. But she finishes her story and leans against the closet. "And now here I am. I lived. But I swear I'm going to die if I don't get to shower."

"You were the only two that survived?"

"Yes. And I'm going to hunt down the person that did this to me the person who gave the orders, and then I'm going to kill the sadistic fuck," Charlie says as she fishes into her pockets and pulls out the keycard.

Quinn nods, "How can I help?"

"Help?"

"You think you're going to do this alone? Do you have a lead? Anything? Do you know any of the names of the scientists? We can search for him on the internet."

Charlie hesitated for a moment, Quinn was far better at this research than she was. And she was glad that she didn't see a look of pity in Quinn's eyes. There was just steely determination. She fishes into her pockets and tosses the key card that she had swiped from one of the scientists and tosses it at Quinn. "His name was Dustin Goolsby. I think he enjoyed watching us suffer. I'm pretty sure he's dead, but I need a place to look into. There's no way this guy was the head of whatever the fuck I went through."

Quinn nods as she studies his picture, her twin was right in her assessment he looked like an idiot. "We need to be careful with this stuff. Maybe we google his name and it alerts some government base. We're going to need to go through this carefully."

Charlie nods, before pointing to the shower. "Can I?"

"Yeah I'll think about how we can search for him carefully." Quinn said focusing on the card.


	9. Part 01: Chapter 8

Normal for Charlie was simply showing up at school, in a clean shirt and skinny jeans and finding her usual seat at the back where she promptly ignored the stares that she was getting from both students and teachers alike. It was easy to tune everyone out and focus on what's important. Finding the company or the person who had signed off on the experiment that had stolen two months of her life. It was easier to think about that then to think about Santana right now, though her mind would constantly fly back to Santana and wondering how she was. She was tempted to go and find her, but she wasn't exactly sure where Santana lived and she doubted her parents would let her through the door.

"Where the _fuck_ have you been?"

Charlie's eyes flick upward as she looks at Dani Harper who was approaching her table with a look of concern on her face. She studies her for a moment, she had lost her virginity to Dani, they hooked up whenever she had an itch that needed to be scratched, but she wasn't exactly certain what that meant at this moment in time. She tilts her head ever so slightly before deciding to give her the honest truth. "I was locked up in a laboratory and experimented on for two months. I managed to escape," she said flatly.

A look of disbelief crosses Dani's face as she slides into the seat beside Charlie, "No, _seriously,_ where were you? I thought you finally did it. Ran off, I mean. I came by your house a few times and even Quinn didn't know where you were."

A smile cracks Charlie's lips, of course Dani wouldn't believe her, "I needed some _me _time, so I just took off for a few days, hitchhiked for a bit, got out of town. Just finally managed to get back," Charlie says with a shrug. "My father was being a dick again."

"You shouldn't have come back then, I mean look at you. You look _horrible_."

"Thanks," Charlie says going back to her sandwich.

"You know what I mean," Dani says reaching for Charlie's hand, undeterred when Charlie pulls the limb away from her. Charlie had her moods, and she generally got like this after a particularly rough night with her father. "He's a fucking bastard is what he is," she nods reaching onto her plate and taking the pudding and placing it on Charlie's tray. She looked almost sickly, she probably hadn't been able to afford food again.

Charlie stares at the pudding for a moment before picking it up and placing it back on Dani's tray, she wasn't in the mood for Dani attempting to suffocate her with kindness. She didn't _need_ pity. She needed a job, there wasn't any food in the fridge. "I'm fine. Just need to get my hands on some cash so I can start my business up again. I don't have anymore product and I don't have the cash on hand to buy it." It wasn't exactly true, but given how long she'd been away, she was definitely going to have some competition now.

"Well me and Matt have a job—"

"_Dani_," Matt hisses at her, as he finally approaches the table, catching the end of the conversation. It's not as if he didn't trust Charlie, but she had never shown any interest in joining their little excursions. There usually wasn't that much money to go around to begin with, a convenience store, a restaurant. Just small places that they could get into and get out of quickly. It was fun and easy money.

Dani scowled at Matt, she had been the one to come up with this and it could be their biggest score yet. "We need someone else, _you _agreed to that. And it's _Charlie_, she's fucking good at puzzles."

"Finding your _g-spot_ is not a puzzle," Matt groans, shooting Charlie an apologetic look. She shrugs her shoulders in response and he turns his attention back to Dani. "Look forget it. It's just wishful thinking on our part. It's stupid, it's dangerous, and it's bigger than anything we've ever done before. It's different than hitting a few convenience stores. We could do some serious time, if we're caught. Well you would, my mom would straight up _murder me_."

Charlie takes a sip of her water, she wasn't interested in high risk operations, she had just been imprisoned. But she was curious, robbing a convenience store just seemed petty, and most of the men and women who worked there were nice to her, and occasionally let her have some of the 'expired' candy when she had been younger. But this seemed different. "What's the job?"

"Strip joint," Dani says before Matt can stop her.

"A strip joint?" Charlie repeats slowly. "Don't strippers take home their money at the end of the night?"

"Yes, but we're talking about the back office, they get a shit ton of cash as well," Dani explains. "They have those specialty nights, and they generally rake in a ton of cash you know. You know renting out the rooms, the crappy food, plus they have an ATM," Dani lowered her voice looking at Charlie. "Plus, no cameras."

Charlie tilts her head slightly, "How?"

"Well we need to case the place, like in movies, and I mean we were going to do that in a few days once we get some fake ID's—look even if you don't want to be involved you're really good at spotting things, so maybe a bit of help. I'll buy you a lap dance?"

Charlie crinkled her nose at that, turning to Dani, "I'll pass on the lap dance, but I will help you case the place. That's it though. Just give me five percent, if you two don't get arrested." Charlie said with a shrug.

"Deal," Dani said quickly before Matt could object, she sticks out her hand for Charlie who rolls her eyes but shakes it. "But if you change your mind—"

"I won't, I'm not interested in old women shaking their tits in my face," Charlie answers as she opens her pudding cup.

"Fair enough, I'll give you one," Dani grins.

"Do I get a lap dance?" Matt asks not being completely serious, watching the two of them.

Dani rolls her eyes, "Don't be gross Matt," Dani retorts easily, once again putting her pudding cup on Charlie's tray once more. "You need to get more food into you. I'll get you another sandwich. I'm not going to take no for an answer."

Charlie scowled at the pudding cup but nodded, she was _starving_.

~O~

"I want to go back to school." Santana says from where she's sitting. "I've come here _every_day for the past week and a half, and then my parents pick me up and they _hover_, and I just want to go back to school. I don't want to be held back a year."

"Do you think you can handle it? You've been through a _trauma_, I know you say you can't remember anything, but you were missing for two months." Emma responded as she adjusted the pencil on her desk making sure that it was in line with all the others. "

"I know that, but—being at _home_ just feels like another prison," Santana explains. She hated to say that about her parents, she had missed them and she _loved them_ dearly. But waking up and spotting her father just staring at her from the doorway, was unnerving. Having her mother cling to her made her feel trapped and it was suffocating. "I know they're worried, but my dad went out and purchased a gun. A _gun_, despite both my parents being against it. He wants to be ready in case they come back, and my mother just went along with it. I _get it_, I know why they're doing this, but I can't take it. I just want to go back to school. I don't mind giving up my other activities for now, but I don't want to repeat the year. I'm sure my teachers will give me some assignments to make up for the time I missed, and now I'll finally have time to _do it_."

Emma studied Santana for a moment, she was _hiding_ something she wasn't sure what it was but years of experience, was what reinforced the hunch. It had only been five sessions and she could tell Santana was still trying to figure her out. This could help build the trust she needed to get past Santana's walls. "I will talk to your parents, and I'm not taking their side, but you're their only child and it was two months Santana. They probably thought that you were dead."

"I know, but I can't _stay_ at home anymore, I can't watch television, I don't want to deal with some asshole detective who I don't think believes that something happened to me. I just want my life back, I want to go hang out with friends and put this behind me, I _need_ to put this behind me."

"Well that's what you're here for Santana. You know everything we say is confidential, I'm not going to let your parents know anything that you don't want me to tell them. I'm not even allowed to talk to the police, unless I feel like you're a danger to yourself or others," Emma reminded her gently.

Santana hesitated for a moment, she couldn't talk about the experimentation, she couldn't tell Emma about any of what she had been through. "I'll tell you stuff, but you can't write any of this down. You can't make notes, you can't talk to anyone about this."

Emma blinked, and immediately closes the folder in front of her, "Very well, I'll just listen," Emma promises.

Santana frowns, she wasn't supposed to tell _anyone_ about Charlie, but she was going to. "I didn't get out alone, there was someone else there. She was imprisoned like I was, she survived just like I did. We were put in the same cell together, and she told me we were going to live. Every single day, for weeks that _we_ were going to live. We had lasted this long—I thought she was just talking shit. You know? Blindly optimistic, but we _did_ we survived."

"Do the police know about her?"

"No, I know how it goes. Rich girl, gets kidnapped, it's becomes a sensationalist story, we were kidnapped on the same day, or close enough from what I can gather, we _lived_." Santana bites her lip. "I trusted her—"

"Past tense?" Emma prompts.

Santana hesitates for another moment, it still hurt. It felt like her heart was broken but she knew if Charlie showed up again—everything would be alright. "No, I trust her—she lived through it, _we _lived through it together. She came back for me, didn't leave me to rot. But she insisted that we go back to our own lives. So that's what I want to do. I want to live my life, to the fullest. I don't want to think about what I lived through I just want to bury it and move on."

"And that's why you're here, so you can learn to move on Santana. You speak of her very fondly, I can hear it in your voice—"

"I miss her," Santana shrugs simply. That wasn't the word she had wanted to use but she doubted Emma could understand what she felt. The anxiety, the sadness, the _loneliness_.

"You both spent quite a bit of time together, and whatever you went through, it created a bond," Emma explains.

"I know that but our lives aren't supposed to intersect, and I doubt my parents would approve."

"Approve suggests you wish to have a romantic entanglement. Something I suggest that you avoid for now. I know you're a teenager, but given everything you went through, rushing into some relationship isn't the correct action. Also, if you explain to your parents that she is the one that helped you come home to them, I am certain that they'd throw her a party," Emma pointed out. She watches Santana look at the painting on her wall for a moment. "There's something else I wanted to ask you—you keep saying we. As in the two of you, am I to take it that there were more girls locked up with you?"

Santana froze, she shouldn't have said anything at all. "I don't want to talk about it."

Emma nods, Santana had confirmed it whether she had wanted to or not, but she doesn't push instead focusing on the person that seemed to bring her joy. They didn't quite have that much time left and she wanted to end this on a positive note. "Okay so let's talk about the girl who came back from you, tell me more about her."

Santana shrugs, "There's nothing to tell really. We went our separate ways and I came home. I hope she made it home as well—or she found someplace safe. I'm probably never going to see her again."

"Home wasn't safe?"

Santana grits her teeth; another mistake and she simply shrugs. It's the best she can do right now. "Are you going to tell my parents to let me go back to school?"

"I will discuss that with them and tell them that we're making progress," Emma promises. "How about we end a little early today, and thank you for sharing. We'll continue to unpack it during our next session."

"Okay," Santana mumbles standing up, glad to be free of the questions. Now she would just need to convince her parents to let her go back to school. Quinn Fabray was her lifeline to Charlie and she wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to bring Charlie back into her orbit.


	10. Part 01: Chapter 9

"It _must _have been so _scary_. I mean it's like a horror movie isn't it?"

Santana winced as Kitty clung to her, had she always been this _fake_? She'd been friends with Kitty for what felt like _forever_. Sure, there were times when she really didn't like to hang out with her because she found Kitty to be a bit much at times, but this seemed over the top even by Kitty's standards. "Yeah, it was totally like a horror movie," Santana repeats, maybe coming back to school had been a mistake. Maybe she should have stayed at home for another day.

"Have the police caught him?" Bree asked looking at Santana curiously.

"No—" Santana began to respond only to be caught off by Kitty. She had never been as close to Bree as she had been with Kitty, if only because it was clear that Bree was gunning for her position as the head bitch. Though at this moment she didn't have the time or the inclination to care about Bree's motives as she glances up, noting how other students were staring at her like she was some sort of _leper_.

"That's even scarier isn't it? So, he's just lurking then? What if he tries to take another one of us? Or he comes after you again?"

Santana bristled, but she bit her tongue for now, she would deal with it later. But she just needed a few moments to collect herself. "Yeah, I need to see all my teachers so I don't have to repeat the year, I'll talk to you guys more about this at lunch if that's okay with you?"

"Yeah of course," Kitty said taking a step back.

Santana nods and grabs her bag before taking off, hoping to find an empty place that she could just take a moment and _breathe_. She spots a bathroom and ducks into it for a moment, it was the gross one, so there was hardly anyone in there at any given time and approaches the cracked sink. All the money that her parents paid and they couldn't do a simple renovation? She shakes her head and looks at herself in the mirror gently poking herself in the cheek. This was real, she was really back at school, but things still felt _off_. Like she didn't quite belong anymore. Emma had said that it might be a bit overwhelming but the alternative was simply staying at home in a prison that her parents had made for her. She's about to snap at the person who had just entered the bathroom when she stops and stares a smile flitting across her lips for a moment before she realizes that the pull that she feels with Charlie isn't there. "Quinn?"

Quinn nods and slowly approaches her slowly, "Um, I just wanted you to know that you don't have to be super nice to me because you slept with my sister."

Santana blinked at the words and an amused smile crosses her face as she shakes her head. "She told you."

"Charlie doesn't really _hide _things from me. I mean, she's not very good at hiding things from me. When we used to play hide-and-seek when we were kids, it would always be something hanging out in an obvious way that let me find her," Quinn mused before clearing her throat and looking at Santana. "I'm really just here to say thank you, for you know being with her—saving her."

"She told you that? She jumped into the singularity for _me_."

"She told me that if she had been the last one standing she wouldn't have made it out of this alive. So even if you weren't breaking down doors, and taking names, you saved her in your own way. So, thank you for taking care of her. You kept each other alive," Quinn glances at the bathroom that they were in and crinkles her nose. "Are you okay though? I mean really?"

"Is your sister?" Santana asks, turning the question back on Quinn.

"No. She doesn't sleep. Like at all, I'm trying to get her to talk to me but she _won't_. I don't think she's hiding anything just there's only so much you can say I guess. I know you don't have a twin you can tell, or someone else. I mean you probably have an army of therapists right now—but if you do want to talk about it, you know, what you went through I can listen. I mean this—coming back to all this must be hard."

Santana crinkles her nose, "I didn't realize how _fake_ everyone here was. The teachers, _my _friends. Was it like this before or are people just treating me different because they think I'm going to shatter to a million pieces."

"Are you going to shatter to a million pieces?" Quinn asks.

Santana blinks, after the hell on earth that she'd been high school was no longer a life and death scenario. "From this? No. I mean I've survived worse," she laughs at her own joke and adjusts her bag on her shoulder for a moment. "I think right now I need something real."

"Seriously you don't have to be nice to me because you like my sister," Quinn repeats.

"I'm not, and I'm not doing it because I _promised_ her either, but if it makes her feel better to think that she solved all your problems I don't see why we need to burst that bubble," Santana says as she adjusts her backpack on her shoulder. "I need something real, I need someone that I can talk to and if Charlie trusts you—"

"I personally think she's just keeping me around until she needs a kidney," Quinn jokes.

Santana smiles, "Yeah, she kept herself alive so she could come back to you. You're the most important person in her life."

"For now, maybe. My sister _really_ likes you, she won't admit it of course, but you can hear it in her voice when she talks about you. I think she misses you."

"She does?" Santana cleared her throat and flushed, "I mean—"

Quinn shrugs, "Charlie's not really big on words, or feelings, or anything _normal_, but when she likes something it's obvious in her voice, and when she was talking about you, I mean there was _definitely _something there."

Santana nods as they leave the crappy bathroom together, she couldn't just admit to Quinn how much she missed Charlie, it was pathetic. So, she decides to focus on something else. "You know if you just snap back at them they'll probably leave you alone. I mean the only reason they target you is because of your clothes, and the fact that you don't fight back."

Quinn shrugs at this, "I know I complain to Charlie but it stopped bothering me a while back, I got in not because my dad can afford to pay for the obscene tuition, god knows he can't pay for groceries most days. I got in because I'm smart, and right now that's going to get me places. I mean yeah, I'll probably be stuck with crippling debt, but I do plan on going to Yale, when I graduate. If my sister could do it, then so can I."

Santana paused and turned to look at Quinn, "You have another sister? Charlie never mentioned her I don't think."

"Frannie managed to escape, and she never looked back. I can't blame her, there's no way she could do everything she was doing and take care of us," Quinn explains. "Charlie's a bit sore that she left us, so Frannie doesn't exist in her mind, just a figment of our collective imagination."

Santana shakes her head, "I'm an only child, which means that my parents are being _overprotective_—like there's overprotective and then there's jail your children, and I think they're definitely crossing into that territory."

"You were gone for two months, I know I thought that Charlie was dead in a ditch somewhere, I looked for her, I called her phone—checked out her stomping grounds. Everything even her friends didn't know where she was. I thought the worst, but like latching onto Charlie is like the worst thing to do in the world, she doesn't handle _emotions_ well."

"She tried to comfort me when I cried," Santana offered watching as Quinn winced.

"I'm _so _sorry," Quinn apologized for Santana who began to laugh. "The awkward hand pat? I mean at least she didn't walk in see you crying and walk right back out."

"Very hard to escape when you're stuck in a cell together," Santana says wryly as they enter the hallway. She flashes Quinn a smile before an idea takes place, "Do you want to tutor me? Or at the very least help me catch up?"

"Uh—"

"You've got the best GPA right, now don't you? And you don't have that many extra-curricular activities, right? Tutoring me is something to put on your college application. Plus, my parents probably won't give you the third degree."

"This isn't some ploy to get into my twin's pants again is it?" Quinn asks frowning at the thought.

"No, I'm serious I don't want to repeat the year, and I _need_ something real right now, just to make sure that I'm not going crazy."

Quinn nods, if it would keep her out of the house she was all for it. "Alright."

~O~

"So? What do you think?"

Charlie tilted her head and took a sip of the beer that Dani had purchased for her. They'd been here for hours, letting her make note of the schedule shifts, watching the cashiers empty the money into a bag, before the money was taken to the back probably to be stored in a safe or something of the sort. The schedule varied, and it wasn't as if she could count the money. Her attention shifts for a moment as Dani crawls onto her lap straddling her. She looks up for a moment, "I think you're going to get arrested. How do you plan on breaking in they have some big security guards outside? Even if you break in after this place closes, how are you going to move the safe? How are you going to _open _the safe? It might be a big score but this is foolish. So, I hope you don't get tried as an adult."

Dani leans in and placing her arms on the chair so that she can lean in causing Charlie to raise a brow, it was enough to know that she had finally piqued her interest as she leans in for a kiss capturing Charlie's mouth with her own. "It's _just_ a puzzle. You're _really,_ really good at puzzles," she hums against Charlie's lip. "How would you do it?"

Charlie inhaled for a moment, before narrowing her eyes slightly. "Easiest way—wait until he moves the money to take it to the bank. It's easier than breaking in, but there are _cameras_ outside, so maybe break in through the back door, maybe you can get into the manager's room, then all you need is a simple chisel, hammer and crowbar to break into the safe, you take the contents and leave. Matt would have to do most of the heavy lifting. I have no idea how long that would take though."

Dani is about to respond when she feels a hand on her lower back and she knows that Charlie's finally going to respond the way she wanted her too. It had just taken a bit of alcohol, some pulsating music and straddling her, to get what she wanted. One-day Charlie wouldn't play hard to get like she did, but she loved the chase, and Charlie really was the best person she'd ever been with. "Maybe we should leave and find somewhere else to take this? My mom's working late—"

"No."

Dani pouted, "No?"

Charlie narrowed her eyes slightly. "Bathroom," she said calmly letting Dani kiss her once more.

A slow sly grin crosses Dani's face at the words, she couldn't wait for them to head home which was good. "Check my purse," she murmurs watching as Charlie's hand slips into her purse and she grins when it seems that Charlie has a good handle on it. She winks at her, before pulling up. "You go first."

Charlie's brow twitched for a moment but she gets up, picking up Dani's purse and taking it with her to the restroom. They would need to be quick about this, and she heads in finding the biggest stall and stepping inside of it, pulling out the strapon that Dani had brought with her. She shakes her head before sliding it on. She had no idea why _she _was even _here_, she could think of a million more interesting things to be doing. She tilts her head when Dani slips into the stall and locks it. Without saying a word, she moves pinning Dani against the stall door.

"Impatient?" Dani teases helping Charlie by undoing her jeans and pushing them down, she didn't even mind the fact that she was being forced up the stall door. Charlie had her moods, and this was probably one of them. Besides being taken from behind was generally one of her favorite positions anyway. "_Fuck_," she groans as Charlie's fingers slide into her, testing her wetness and suddenly the toy is placed at her entrance. She was _definitely_ in the mood for a rough fuck today.

Charlie's free hand immediately moves to cover Dani's mouth, as she slams her hips home feeling Dani moan against her hand. She immediately tunes the noise out and just focuses on what she's doing for a moment, this didn't _feel _good, this didn't feel _right_ like it had with Santana. But she'd never _do _this with Santana, take her into a strip club, she'd never have sex with her in a bathroom stall unless she wanted to do that. Dani's body goes rigid, dragging her from her thoughts and Charlie watches as her body convulses around the toy. She crinkles her nose slightly, that had been quick even by Dani's standards, but if that meant that they were done for the day then she was going home.

"You must have really missed me," Dani says as Charlie finally allows her to speak and she reaches down and pulls up her pants. Hard and fast just the way she liked it. "Now that you've had a taste, we should go home and finish what we started."

"I have homework," Charlie said with a shrug.

Dani frowned at this but shook it off, "Right, you know I was thinking—if you're our lookout, I think I can convince Matt to give up a full five percent, and you can take home ten percent. That's it, I mean I know you were watching how much money they were moving. I think some of the girls take home a few thousand a night. That drink I got you was _eight dollars_. I saw people buying rum and _cokes_—"

"Okay."

"They're probably—did you say okay?" Dani watches as Charlie nods slowly and grins leaning forward to kiss her on the lips. "Awesome, I'll bully Matt into it, I'll tell you the details at school tomorrow."


	11. Part 01: Chapter 10

Charlie sat in a fire escape and glanced at her watch from the dollar store, it was already well after three am, and there had been no sign of either Matt or Dani, and she was certain that everyone had already vacated the premises from the strip club, she'd seen the manager leave last with a few of the women. They hadn't noticed her sitting in the dark up on the fire escape. She wraps her arms around herself and studies the quiet street. This was a waste of a Monday morning, and she was well aware that she had class in a few hours. She'd probably skip if she could find a place to sleep where she wouldn't be around her father. He hadn't seemed to notice that she was back and she intended to keep it that until she felt _normal_.

Her body still ached, she still saw things—terrible things in her dreams, which was the only reason she was awake. She was avoiding doing that as well. Maybe when she had some money she'd invest in some sleeping aids, so she'd be able to sleep.

She looks around the deserted alley and slips down the fire escape. The only light was from the street lamps, and that was far enough away that she could move to the back door and test it with her gloved hands, she sighs noting that it was locked before taking a step back. She kicks the door forcefully, ignoring the sharp pain in her foot. It had felt good, in a releasing all the pent anger inside of her sort of way. She slams her hand against the brick wall with all the force she can muster and jumps back when she hears a large _crack_. She scrambles back and stares at the large broken fragment of brick and then looks at her hands. That couldn't have just happened. There was a throbbing sensation and she was certain she had felt _something_ underneath her hand. She looks around but no one had seemed to notice and she takes a step towards the crack in the wall and raises her hands again.

Nothing happened.

She blinks slightly disappointed at this and slams her hand against the wall once more this time the entire wall shakes and groans and she jumps back because it's not being _pushed_ inward it's coming outward towards her. "The _fuck_," she mutters. She looks over her hands again but there was nothing there. She looks at the wall once more before raising her hand again, willing whatever happened before to happen again and stares as bricks begin to fly from the wall towards her outstretched hand. She curses and ducks, scrambling back when her ass hits the ground as the brick hits the wall behind her. "_Holy shit_!" She stands up and looks at the brick kicking it and making sure it was real before turning around and outstretching her palm again focusing on the pulling sensation that she had felt, closing her eyes. She hears another loud crack and opens her eye to see bricks flying at her at a quick pace, but disappearing into the palm of her hand. She focuses for a moment before taking a step inside the building and looking around.

She slips up her hoodie and keeps her head down as she walks inside the building, stepping over the fallen bricks, that hadn't been sucked up and walking towards the stairs that she had seen. The manager's office was on the second floor of the building, and she hops up the stairs carefully, she makes a beeline to the manager's office and raises her hand again, watching as the thick wooden door splinters and begins to fly towards her before disappearing as it's sucked into her hands. She smirks as she walks inside and looks around the office for a moment, pausing she couldn't see a safe at all.

The entire place looked tacky, and she studies the room before her eyes fall on a painting that looked slightly crooked. She raises her hand again and watches as it gets sucked into her hand before grinning at the large safe that seemed to be hidden underneath it. She would need to be careful. She raises her hand and tries to control the pull but the wall around the safe cracks, the drywall flying into the air. She curses under her breath and narrows her eyes slightly and focuses on the door to the safe, watching as the metal twists and bends before it's finally ripped off the hinges and flies towards her. She closes her hand immediately watching as the metal door falls to the ground and looks at the bags of cash. There was at least six of them, and they looked rather heavy. She grabs them, and quickly heads down the stairs running towards the exit. She slips out and looks around before ducking down the alleyway. She'd have to keep off the sidewalks till she got to her place, and hopefully the cops weren't going to show up at her doorstep.

~O~

"She still doesn't have a cellphone?" Santana asks looking at Quinn who shakes her head.

"We're supposed to be focusing on your chemistry Santana, you aren't going to learn stoichiometry, fantasizing about my sister. She probably doesn't even know what it is," Quinn said with a roll of her eyes.

"That's mean," Santana grumbles.

"Also, _accurate_, she's taking biology, and I'm pretty sure she sleeps through that class, she doesn't take notes in any class, just sort of stares at the teacher. Kind of like how you'll be staring at the test that you have to take if you don't sit down and _focus_."

"You're such a bitch," Santana grumbles picking up her pen once more and going back to answering the questions in the textbook. Quinn had been a godsend, she'd _powered _through her English class, and Spanish had always been a bit of a joke to her, but math and sciences were her weakest subjects and she was finally understanding what was up.

"A bitch who really wants you to pass this test," Quinn said. "When Charlie gets a phone—"

"I have Oreos!"

Santana froze and glared at her dad who was carrying a large tray filled with junk food and soda, and a pack of Oreos. All she wanted was a cup of coffee, to help with the headache that she knew was coming. "_Papi_."

"They're the thin ones like your mother made me get!" Miguel says defensively. "You skipped breakfast, and I know for a fact you didn't eat your lunch today. Are the cramps still bothering you?"

Santana flushed and looked over at Quinn who was trying not to laugh, "_Papi_—you're a _doctor_. I'm a woman, who has gone through _puberty_. I just haven't been feeling great," she snaps at him holding her head in her hands.

Miguel ignores her and looks at Quinn, "Would you like some?"

Quinn glances at Santana who shakes her head and smiles before nodding her head, she was starving, and the treats looked amazing. She ignores the daggers that Santana shoots her way and takes an Oreo. "Thanks Dr. Lopez—"

"Miguel. I've told you, that you can call me that you've been helping my little girl get through all the work she's missed—are you sure you don't want money or anything, we can pay for your time."

"Uh, no. I'm doing this to help Santana, she's been really nice to me since I got to McKinley, I just want to help her get through this, it would suck for her to have to repeat the year. But we _really_ need to focus on stoichiometry right now. She's only got a week before that make up test of hers."

"Okay, okay, I see when I'm not needed—"

"Really? Because I've been saying that for the past week," Santana snaps at him. He meets her gaze before nodding after a moment and bowing out. She watches the door for a moment, he was probably listening. He had been doing that, monitoring _everything _she did, who she texted, watching her _sleep_. "I know he seems nice, but they're out of control Quinn. They do this, monitoring me like I'm sort of child. It feels like a prison again. I had a police escort my first day back, a _police _escort. I can drive and they won't let me, my car is just sitting there not being used as they ferry me back and forth—I _can't take it_."

"So, talk to them about it? You were gone for two months."

"I have. I'm certain that the two new security guards that the school hired are my new bodyguards. Like my parents are _well off_, and they just can't take a _hint_. It makes me feel like I'm _back there_, with all my movements watched and tracked, and they don't get it. It's supposed to be different because they're my parents, but it's _not_. I get cramps and my father thinks it's the end of the world, instead of you know _my _period happening. Do you have any idea what it's _like_?"

Quinn shakes her head and reaches for another Oreo, pausing for a moment and flushing, "I don't think my dad has realized that Charlie's come home. Of course, she sort of avoids the house, and only comes back in when she's certain he's passed out in a drunken stupor, but I mean at least your parents _care _enough. And yeah, it's bad now but like you were gone for two months. You need to just let them know that it's too much."

Santana notices her hesitation, "Take it, I'm just annoyed and needed to vent, I'm _honestly_ not hungry. Woke up with cramps this morning and yeah, it's lessened but I just feel _full_. I'll probably be fine tomorrow," Santana says with a shrug. She glances over and pauses studying the mug of coffee that was just there. She scowls at it; her father was probably trying to bribe her or something.


	12. Part 01: Chapter 11

Dani stood up as Charlie approached them, and quickly went up to her. "Look, I know it seems like we bailed on you, but I texted you like five times. I forgot that you didn't have your phone on you. _We're sorry_, right Matt?"

Matt winces, "Right, but I mean I always knew that this was a risky venture you know. We just didn't know it was _organized _crime bad, so we called the whole thing off. You don't want to fuck with them, I mean next thing you know you're dead in a ditch or you're like working it off, killing people or burying them. Then you can never leave."

"So, you don't want the money then?" Charlie asked unzipping her backpack and opening it just wide enough for the two of them to get a glimpse at one of the deposit bags that she had stolen. "Because if you don't want it then I can just keep it."

Matt's eyes widened at the cash and he immediately moved to grab Charlie's bag and close it, zipping it shut. "Are you _insane_?" He hisses, what was she thinking bring that much money to school? "Where did you even get it?"

Charlie takes her backpack back from him and zips it up calmly, "I did the job on Sunday night and then slept through Monday. It wasn't as difficult as you thought it was and they're probably not going to figure out it was _me._"

Dani gripped Charlie's arm, "What do you mean _you_ did the job?"

Charlie shrugged, "I did the job, it wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be, they don't have any cameras or anything it's a _strip_ club, so I emptied the safe. We're teenagers, the mob isn't going to be looking for someone like us, and unless you do something stupid like start spending it on obvious things, no one is going to look at us."

"At us?" Matt repeats.

"I took 10k, your cut is 25k, _each_. I need the money to invest back into my business, otherwise I would have just taken the agreed upon split. Seeing as I did all the work though, I think it's fair." Charlie informed them.

"Wait you're just—giving us that much _money_?" Dani says lowering her voice.

Charlie shrugged, "You're the ones that brought this to me, I don't know call it a _finder's _fee or whatever. We'll split it after school. I'm going shopping with Quinn after the fact. I need a new phone. Look, just find me after school, I'll give you guys your cut."

"What's the catch?" Matt asks as he watches her. No one was _that _generous.

"There is no catch, I'm just doing what we agreed upon. I can see why you've been hitting up all those convenience stores, it's _easy_ money. It's yours maybe we can collaborate again," Charlie says simply. "I need to get inside, apparently I need to talk with the shitty guidance counselor about my unexplained absences," Charlie lies with ease.

Dani sputtered and reached for Charlie who twisted out of her grasp and joined with the throng of students and walked inside. She turns to Matt who still looks stunned. "I don't get it."

"She's got to have an ulterior motive, right? I mean _come on_, that's a lot of money. Like change your life money," Matt whispers back. "Why would she share it?"

Dani thinks for a moment before smiling, "It's probably because of me, she was going to split the money with just me. I mean we're practically dating."

Matt stared at Dani like she was delusional, "She treats you like _shit_," he whispers back. Charlie wasn't some paragon that Dani made her out to be, they had fucked in a strip club bathroom.

"Charlie doesn't know how to show her emotions properly Matt, with _her dad_. I mean I know she's got a lot of stuff to deal with, her business, her _dad_, I mean she's just right to the point."

Matt sighed, he wasn't going to get into this argument with her again. Charlie was _Charlie_, he knew that but Dani didn't seem to notice that Charlie was quite possibly a sociopath. A sociopath who was going to give him twenty-five thousand dollars. He didn't even know _how _she had managed to do what she did.

~O~

"You're late."

Santana turned to look at the clock on the stove before frowning at her mother. "My curfew has always been eleven at night. It's fifteen minutes to five. There was construction on the way, I didn't think it was a big deal. I mean it was Kitty's mother who dropped me off, you know her, you have mom nights with her or whatever it is you do when we're not home."

Maribel nods, "You should still call if you're going to be late, we _worry_."

Santana frowned, "I _haven't _done _anything _wrong. I haven't—I got kidnapped, I was taking in an Uber, that I ordered. I mean I stayed out past curfew _once _in my entire life, I mean _yeah_, I've done some underage drinking, and there was that unfortunate incident with the texting but I've been a _good _kid overall, you never really worried about me before. It feels like I'm in _prison_, again. I just want my life to go back to normal, I want people to stop staring at me in school like I'm some sort of _freak_ because I got kidnapped. And then I get home and you treat me the same way."

"We're not—it's _not about you_. They can't find anything, they have no leads no _anything_. What if they come back? What if they take you again, you never told us how you escaped— you haven't told us anything. It's not you we don't trust but until they catch the people, that did this to _our _family. We're your parents and we're going to protect you."

"Protect me? If they wanted to take me again, I'm _sure they'd _figure out a way," Santana said throwing her hands up in the air. She needed some air, they were suffocating her. "I get it, you're over correcting, and Quinn keeps telling me to just wait it out but I can't _take it_ anymore."

"_Santana_—"

"The stupid therapists—" Santana begins.

"_Mija_—" Maribel interrupts trying to pull her into a hug, but Santana pulls away, tossing her bag on the ground.

"The looks of god damn _pity_. I'm Santana Lopez," Santana snaps at her mother. The agitation building.

"I know—"

"And I'm sick of you and _papi_, treating me like I'm _a child_. You ran a _background check on Quinn_. Quinn, a straight A student at my _school_. So, what if she's on scholarship? She's intelligent and smart, and did it really matter that her mother _died _of cancer when she was younger? Did it fucking matter that her dad's a bit of a bum on disability and unemployment? You taught me it didn't matter where you fucking came from if you pull yourself up by your bootstraps, and that's what Quinn has done. She's about the only person who doesn't _look at me _with pity."

"Santana, you were kidnapped, it's a parent's worst nightmare, and we still trust you. We do and we love you but them, the people outside these walls?"

"The _people _didn't do this to me a couple of people did this to me. In a world with 7-point-what the fuck ever billion people on the planet. Some shitty people did something really shitty to me, and I know I could have died. I know that, but the way everyone is treating me? It feels just like I'm in that shitty little cell, watching other—" Santana stops herself, taking a shaky breath before turning around and walking out the front door.

"_Santana_!"

She ignores her mother as she picks up speed running as fast as she could, she just needed _air_. She just needed to get away. If her mother hadn't blocked her car in the garage with hers she'd drive away. In fact, she wished she could do that again. Her lungs burn, and she can feel her legs cramping up as she takes a tumble to the ground. Her stamina wasn't what it used to be, in fact her body wasn't what it used to be. Her knees and hands throb in pain and she can't help but reach for her knee and rub it, she didn't want to see her own blood on her hands, but the action seems to have the intended effect and the pain dissipates quickly. It's the same in her hand and she leans back on the grass. She could sit here feeling sorry for herself or she could get her body back to what it had been.


	13. Part 01: Chapter 12

Sam Evan's stepped off the bus, spotting Charlie sitting on a bus stall with her legs crossed and leaning back and staring at the sky. He swallows, he wasn't even sure _what _he was doing here, but when Charlie demanded that he meet her here, he could only nod. It wasn't like he was _afraid _of her. He _wasn't_. Just she had a bit of a reputation at school, and when they had been kids she had made him eat dirt until he had thrown up. He approaches her slowly and takes a seat beside her, "Hi?" He says, flushing when his voice cracks and she turns to look at him. He swallows and continues. "You wanted to see me?"

"I did," Charlie says after a moment before looking up at the sky once more. After being stuck in the damn cell, she enjoyed the freedom, and the wind in her face. "Are you still living at that motel?"

Sam froze at the question, he had managed to keep that under wraps at school. He gripped the chair tightly for a moment, he was bigger than Charlie and he worked out whenever he could, Charlie wouldn't be able to force him to eat dirt anymore. "That's none of your—" He stops when Charlie holds up a wad of cash for him. There was a hundred-dollar bill facing him and he stares at her in shock.

Charlie turns to him when he doesn't take it and moves slipping the money into the pocket on the front of the flannel shirt. She studies the weird symbol on his shirt before patting his chest, "You still reading about men in tights with bulging muscles?" Charlie asks again.

"I—mean—I read comics but—" Sam reached for his pocket and pulled the money out. "I can't take this, Charlie. I don't need your charity."

Charlie raised a brow, in what world did she _give _to charity? "I'm not in the habit of giving money away Sammy, I'm _hiring _you."

Sam blinks, and tries to push the money back into Charlie's hands. He'd _heard_ the rumors. "I'm not going to sell drugs for you."

"Your family lives in a motel, and that's where you draw the line? Selling drugs?" Charlie questioned. When Sam frowned she raised a brow. "I don't need you to sell drugs Sam, my business will do just fine without your help. But I need that giant _nerd_ brain of yours. You know all about that superhero shit, don't you?"

Sam frowned at this and shook his head, "Yeah? So, what if I like comics?"

Charlie shrugged her shoulders, "So you know about super powers and shit."

Sam scowled, "Yeah, so what? I don't see why you needed to call me to the mall," he said crossing his arms over his chest. His eyes flick to the bus that stops in front of them and watches as the people get out, he moves to get up so he can leave only to stop when he spots Quinn Fabray stepping off the bus.

"Hey Quinn," Charlie says getting up, moving to her twin. "You're late."

"I had some tutoring to do," Quinn says with a shrug looking past Charlie and frowning slightly. "_Sam_?"

"Quinn—I?" Sam blushed and cleared his throat before standing up to his full height hoping that it impresses her.

Charlie tilts her head slightly, she had made a guess that Sam still had this weird thing for Quinn. She had guessed right. Quinn was going to be so pissed to learn that she was using her as _bait_, "Alright, let's go you two, I need to find somewhere private. So, I can show you something."

Quinn frowned and moved to grab Charlie by the arm, "What's _he _doing here?"

"I _need _him, and I suppose he can carry all your bags Quinn, when we're shopping. I mean I just need a new phone, but since we're here you did say you were tired of getting clothes from the thrift store, right?" Charlie says as she looks around before heading towards the underground parking lot. "As you know I was gone for two months. I'm sure you heard the rumors Sam—"

"Charlie, what are you doing?" Quinn hissed at her twin, as they entered the parking garage.

"He needs to know, because something else happened," Charlie explains. "I think I was taken by the government or some corporation, who took me doesn't actually matter at this point," Charlie said as she scanned the area for cameras, and people. "What matters is that they _did _something to me, and _this _happened," Charlie said holding out her hand, causing a minivan to start moving towards her. She doesn't look back instead holding her arms steady before the minivan tips over and flies towards her. She hears a scream, probably Sam, as it gets sucked into her palm. She turns and looks at them. "So., I think that makes me a superhero, or some shit, right?"

"What the—" Quinn began.

"_Fuck_." Sam said in shock staring at Charlie.

Charlie stretches and looks at her hand for a moment before turning to look at both Sam and Quinn for a moment. "I need you to teach me to use my powers. That's why I'm hiring you, and paying you for your silence." Charlie takes a step towards them, watching as Sam scrambles back for a moment when she extends her hand towards him. "I'm not going to _hurt _you Sam. I don't want to _hurt _anyone but the monsters that did this to me. They killed, god knows how many, teenagers, in some sick twisted experiments. But to do that I need power, and to get that I need _money_. I'm not going to be _Super-Bat_ or whatever."

Sam nods mutely, still unsure of what he had just witnessed but it was the only thing he _could _do.

Charlie grins at him and then looks over at Quinn. "So, shopping now? You can get whatever you want, I'll have more money soon. Maybe we should go to dinner at some fancy place to celebrate right? And we can run by ideas to turn all the money into a _proper _legal business, maybe we can clean the money that way." Charlie said as she linked arms with her twin.

~O~

This party was a _mistake_.

That was putting it mildly, and Santana could only wonder if she'd _ever _enjoyed these stupid things. She grimaces when someone spills a bit of beer on her jeans causing her to scowl. "Watch it," she snaps, but the drunken teen just nods at her barely registering as he stumbles past her into the throng of teens waiting to get more beer from the keg.

The cramps in her stomach had returned, and she wished she could just find a quiet place to curl up, but she needed to find Kitty and get her to take her home. She wasn't up for this, and it wasn't as if she'd _asked _her parents if she could go. She wanted to make it home before curfew just to show her parents that she wasn't going to die in some _horrible _accident or something. "Kitty," she said relieved when she spotted her. "We need to go."

"Go? We just got here! It's a party for you! A welcome back party," Kitty insists, slurring her words ever so slowly.

Santana blinked, her anger starting to bubble over, she had been drinking. There was no way that Kitty was going to be her ride home, and she wasn't exactly close with anyone else. There was no way in hell that she was going to deal with Bree's bitchy attitude. "This party is for me?" She repeats slowly. "Really? You're all drinking and barely anyone has spoken to me all night. The people who _have _talked about me, are calling me the kidnapped girl. I heard some guys talking about how they'd like to get in my pants, which I might have found flattering if that wasn't followed up by another _drunken _idiot, pointing out that it was a bad idea, because I was probably _raped_ or some shit that would make me _crazy_."

Kitty blinked and reached for the drink on the table, only to have Santana swat her hand. She scowls at her and rubs her hand, "They aren't wrong, you _are _acting like a crazy bitch."

"Excuse you?" Santana said slowly feeling her temper rise at the remark. She'd known that Kitty wasn't much of a friend but this was a bit much even for her. "You're supposed to be my _ride_ back, you _promised_ you wouldn't drink. Also _fuck _you, and your fake ass party, and for being a fake ass friend."

"Me? Once you got kidnapped _everyone _was put on lockdown, everyone this is the first party since you came back—Santana!" Kitty shouted as Santana turned around and walked out the door. She made a small effort to follow her only to get blocked by one of the football players.

Santana swallows and rubs at her eye as she steps out on the porch and looks around, they weren't _in _the city anymore and she wasn't anywhere near her house or a bus stop, to find a way home. She was _tempted _to call her parents, but this would only be further evidence that they could keep treating her like she was some sort of child. She inhales slowly and looks the cul-de-sac for a moment before shaking her head and heading for the main road. There was no way that she was going to make it back by curfew and she wishes that her parents had let her take her car so this wouldn't happen. This whole thing had begun because they had taken away her vehicle and forced her to bum rides off people.

"Fucking assholes," she muttered shivering, she should have worn something warmer, but it was a _party_. She could use with a warmer jacket. But Kitty had _insisted_ that she show some more skin and let people know that she was okay. She was certain that she didn't actually _care _that much about being the HBIC of McKinley, it all seemed so _fake_ and so pointless. Drinking, casual sex—freezing your tits off to wear something revealing at some dumb stupid party to impress even dumber boys. She really could use a damn _jacket_.

Something fluffy suddenly appears on her shoulders causing her to jump and spin around as she falls on her ass. Watching as a jacket falls to the ground. "_Shit_," she says looking around, but there was _no one _around her. "The fuck?" She says looking at the grey button up jacket. It seemed fuzzy, and she reaches for it. She was in the middle of bum-fuck nowhere maybe someone had left it up to dry and it had flown off in a gust of wind. Who left their clothes hanging overnight?

She reaches for the jacket and looks around before sliding it on, pausing at how it fit her _perfectly_. She buttons it up and looks around again, even in the dim moonlight, she couldn't _see _any sheets flowing. She shrugs it off, she had just left a damn party, maybe some drunk kid had thrown a jacket away or something. Either way she needed to focus on getting a ride home, or she was definitely going to be late. All she needed was a car, _her _car. Cherry red with a white racing stripe down the front. Currently stuck sitting in her garage at home— Santana stops and jumps back as the back of her mini cooper started to appear in front of her. Starting with it's bumper, and the license plate, slowly appearing as more tiny little blocks began to appear snapping together, as the rest of her vehicle began to appear before her. She stares and looks around but there was no one else witnessing what she was seeing—or maybe she wasn't seeing it. She reaches forward once the car finishes getting built in her hands. It's a bit cool to touch but it seems steady. And she reaches for the door handle only to realize it was locked. She looks around once more before biting her lip. "Keys please?" She asks only for them to drop into her outstretched hand.

She glances at her watch as she gets into the car and pushes the button, this felt _odd_. But there was small nick on the dashboard that she remembered and there were papers in the glove compartment. This still felt weird but she had half an hour to get home.

~O~

There was a difference between a _Denny's _steak and a proper steakhouse steak. It hadn't been dry or hard as a rock, juicy and marbled to perfection. It was perhaps the best thing that she had ever tasted, it had been so filling, and she glances over at Quinn who seemed to be enjoying herself. "Can you imagine we can go to the _butcher's _now instead of getting like sale meat."

"I mean yeah—are you sure that this is a good idea Charlie, I mean there are some pretty scary people who are involved in what you're talking about—"

"I'll be careful Quinn, don't—" Charlie clutches her stomach and groans for a moment, as her stomach went from _full, _to the brim with delicious steak dinner she had just paid close to forty dollars for, to _empty_, as her hunger came back with a vengeance.

"You okay?" Quinn asks glancing at Charlie.

"Hungry—so fucking hungry," Charlie mumbles.

Quinn blinked, "Charlie you had _two _sides, and like a massive piece of steak how the hell could you still be hungry?"

"I don't know, I _wasn't _but now I am," Charlie insists, glancing at Quinn's doggy bag.

Quinn sighed and pushes it over to Charlie who opens the take-away box and begins to stuff her face, she had known Charlie had a massive appetite but this was a bit much even for her. She didn't get hungry _that _fast. Quinn pauses for a moment before glancing at Charlie. "What about Santana?"

Charlie freezes at the name and looks at her, "What about Santana?"

"What if she has abilities too?" Quinn presses. "The same power?"

Charlie hesitates for a moment, she felt that sudden longing whenever Santana's name was mentioned and she shakes it off after a moment, "So, talk to her about it and find out."


	14. Part 01: Chapter 13

'_Police are baffled by a string of robberies that have hit the area, targeting strip clubs. Whoever the thief is they've caused quite a massive amount of property damage—'_

Miguel turned off the television and flicked his eyes to his daughter for a moment, watching as she pushed her eggs around her plate absentmindedly. He turns to his wife who nods, though there is a fearful look in her eye. "So where are you going today?"

"Library, Quinn's going to help me pass this test that we've got in English, I'm way behind and I need her notes," Santana informs her father before pushing her plate away, the cramps were back with a vengeance. "I said I'd meet her when the library opens, so we're going to need to go soon."

"We're not going anywhere, your mother and I have discussed it, and we _know _you're trying. You made it home before curfew last night, Kitty should have stayed but I understand she has her own curfew to beat. So, we realized we need to _trust _you, and we're giving you the keys to your car again. You're going to need to check in every hour. I know it seems like a bit much to ask for right now, but we just need to know you're okay," Miguel said as Maribel slid Santana's car keys across the table towards her.

"Every hour, on the hour, unless you're driving and if that is _happening_, I want to know who you're with and where you're going, before you start the engine. When you arrive at wherever you're going you need to let me know as well. Keep us informed. If you notice anything strange then you let us know immediately." Maribel stressed.

Santana picked up the keys blinking at them, she'd parked the car she had summoned the night before, about a block away, she still had the keys hidden in her room. She hadn't _teleported _her car at all, it was like she had _duplicated it_, out of _nothing_. "I will," she promises pulling out her phone and quickly setting alerts to ring throughout the day so she remembered to call them. They were finally giving her _some _freedom and she'd be damned if she fucked that up. "I should get going then."

"Mija—" Miguel spoke up causing Santana to look at them.

"Just _be careful_, please," Maribel finished for him. It wasn't her fault, none of this had been _her _fault, but they didn't trust the people outside these walls.

"I will be," Santana promises and moves around the table to kiss her father and mother on the cheek before, quickly moving to grab her bag. She'd need to figure out what to do about the car she'd parked outside. Maybe Quinn could ask Charlie about someone who could _take care _of it. If she could duplicate things, then maybe Charlie had some powers as well. It was something to grill Quinn about, and maybe finally Charlie had gotten her hands on another phone so she could at least _text_. Her life had been super busy as of late and she hadn't had the time to think about her former cellmate, but now that she was the pain still felt _fresh_. She was going to have _words_ with Quinn about it later.

"I know it's been awhile since you drove, but you need to focus on the road. I know you're busy but no texting, other people are shitty drivers. You need to be vigilant," Miguel reminds her.

"I _know_, I will be, and I won't text and drive either." Santana promised. "But seriously I really have to go, I need to find a decent spot at the library to study with Quinn and you know these seats go quickly."

"Don't forget your charger," Maribel calls after watching as Santana stops and nods.

~O~

Quinn watched as Santana scribbled something down, debating how to even _begin_ asking Santana if she had super powers, she didn't really feel the urge to come out and say it in case Santana _didn't_. She still wasn't sure what to make of Charlie's abilities, she'd been busy last night. She had woken up to find Charlie gone and a stack of tens and fives in her bag, a gift from Charlie she supposed.

"Did I do a problem wrong?"

"Huh?" Quinn asked turning to look at Santana who was staring at her.

"You've been staring at my hands and thinking _hard_, I mean I can hear it," Santana says leaning back. "Did I do the problem wrong?"

Quinn scanned the problem that Santana had been working on and shook her head, "No, I was just thinking."

"About?" Santana pressed, wondering if now would be a good time to _ask _if Quinn had noticed anything odd with her twin.

Quinn chewed on her lip for a moment before sighing, she would just need to say it. "Have you noticed anything _odd_?"

Santana paused narrowing her eyes slightly? "Odd, in what way?"

"Things—I don't know _disappearing?" _Quinn pushes a bit watching as Santana frowns at her words, there was no recognition there. Maybe it _was _just Charlie, or Santana simply hadn't manifested her powers.

"No. I mean unless you count the number of friends I can count on," Santana says with a shrug. "Are you losing things?"

"Maybe I just got used to Charlie not moving my stuff around," Quinn lies quickly. The last thing she needed was Santana accidentally triggering something.

"I thought you said she hadn't been home often," Santana points out the lie and quirks a brow at Quinn. "You know cause of your abusive dad. He hasn't realized she's back yet?

Quinn chewed on her lip, not comfortable with how the conversation was going. "We're almost eighteen, we only have to survive that long, but that might be changing soon. We might be able to get our own apartment away from him or something. At least I hope I can convince Charlie to make it happen. She's been trying to expand her business. I think she might be successful. If that's the case we might be able to move into a nicer area or something."

Santana nods absentmindedly suddenly feeling her heart skip a beat, and the hairs on her arm start to stand up. It was like there was a static in the air followed by an almost _pulling _sensation as she sits up. Almost immediately moving to tighten her ponytail and smooth out any wrinkles in her clothes.

Quinn blinked and looked around, "What is there a cute girl around?" She asked, but the only people that she had noticed were old men and women reading newspapers. "Are you into old men?"

Santana scowled at her, "No—I mean I'm not I just think—I mean it's stupid isn't it. Oh god—_look at me_, I'm like all those girls I made fun of," she muttered under her breath.

"Can I make fun of you? You're being ridiculous," Quinn points out tilting her head, she'd never seen Santana look so flustered, and it was like there was a blush on her cheeks which made the whole thing even _weirder. _She looks around for a moment wondering who it was that could make Santana lose her mind like this when she spots a mess of blonde hair that her twin was desperately trying to tame. "Oh. _Gross_." Quinn muttered under her breath as Charlie looked at her reflection in a computer screen before straightening out her wrinkled shirt. Charlie _never_ cared about her appearance before, at least Santana was a _normal _girl, Charlie wasn't even normal adjacent, but her twin looked almost nervous approaching the table. Clearly _something _was wrong with reality.

"You didn't tell me your sister was coming," Santana hissed at Quinn.

Quinn turned her hazel eyes to Santana, "I didn't even know she was coming, I doubt she knew she was coming like half an hour ago." Quinn frowned, Charlie had texted her this morning about being at Dani's which meant that her twin had probably _fucked _Dani before deciding to come and bother her because she'd grown bored of Dani's presence. Charlie didn't even _like _Dani, and she had no idea why Charlie kept stringing her along like she did.

"Oh, hey," Charlie said with a small wave when she finally managed to approach the table.

Quinn's brows shot up immediately at this. Her twin's tone was usually filled with cool indifference, and she had tried to hide her words in that tone but it was _obvious_ from the flush on her face that Charlie _actually _cared. She hadn't thought that Charlie actually _liked _Santana, she wasn't sure that her twin liked anyone or trusted anyone. But Charlie was fidgeting, and she was _blushing_. This wasn't _normal_.

"_Hey_."

Quinn crossed her arms and looked between the two of them stare at each other, they were _ignoring her_. "Suck up anything interesting?" Quinn asked pointedly trying to get her twin's attention.

Charlie moved to pull a chair up to their table and took a seat beside Santana, who scooted her own chair over slightly to make a bit of room. "So, I—"

"Need to give me your number," Santana says reaching for her phone.

Charlie flashed a crooked smile and pulls out her new phone and passes it to Santana. "I just got it, Quinn helped me set it up."

"Sitting right here," Quinn says crossing her arms over her chest.

"I like it," Santana says as she puts her phone number into Charlie's contacts, making sure to add herself to Charlie's favorites. It wasn't the cheap phone that she'd seen with Quinn, Charlie had spent a bit of money on this. "I've missed you," she admits after a moment.

Charlie places her arm on the table and slowly moves her hands until their pinky fingers are touching, "Missed you too."

Hell had frozen over, Charlie didn't _miss _people. She certainly didn't fall into whatever this _was_ with Santana. "You two need to get a room," she mutters. The amount of eye contact between the two of them made her feel like she was intruding.

"We can—we should," Santana says finally tearing her eyes off Charlie to look around the library. They needed to _talk_. "We can book a study room—"

"Let's get out of here," Charlie interrupts, tilting her head at Santana.

Santana nods after a moment and reaches to pack up her things.

"Well, so long as you buy me—" Quinn paused when Charlie shot her a dark look, causing her to sit back down. "I'm going to study here," she says after a moment. They were going to have sex, _of course _they were.


	15. Part 01: Chapter 14

Santana watched biting her lip, from where she lay with a blanket draped over her naked body. Charlie was bending over to pull on her jeans revealing an ass that she may have grabbed a few times. She hadn't gained much weight since they had been set free and it was worrying. "Are you okay?"

Charlie straightens up and turns to look at Santana, that crooked half smile of hers coming to her face, "Are you asking because you hope I have another round in me?"

Santana shakes her head, "No—I mean yeah, but I sort of feel bad for ditching Quinn and I—we really should get back to the library. I'm asking because I have a therapist, and I haven't told them anything nothing important anyway, but I do have professional help."

"I have Quinn."

"Quinn isn't equipped to handle and unpack everything we went through." Santana points out, Quinn was a godsend but putting all that on her seemed unfair. "Are you sleeping?"

"Are you?" Charlie said defensively, before frowning slightly and looking away, she hadn't meant the bite in her voice. It was _Santana_. "No. I need to keep busy to stop my brain focused on _other things_. Like my business. I was thinking about buying a car to make it easier than simply riding my bike around and doing multiple trips. I came into some money—"

"Have you been lifting wallets again?" Santana interrupts. "Charlie, you're going to get yourself thrown into a jail cell, where there will probably be some creepy woman who wants to make you her bitch."

"Nobody's making me their bitch Santana," Charlie replies with a roll of her eyes.

Santana smiled, "I'm pretty sure _I _could," Santana insists with a small teasing smile.

"I feel like that's a _challenge_," Charlie shakes her head and runs a hand through her hair trying to smooth it out, as she begins to look for her shirt. "Text your parents," she says absentmindedly.

"I will—just promise me no more lifting wallets. I'm not going to visit you in jail, I mean I might write, but that's about it," Santana says. "I'm never stepping foot into a prison if I can _help it_."

Charlie pulls on her shirt, and grunts at the statement before turning to look at Santana. "I'm not lifting wallets. I'm just expanding my old-people delivery service."

"Your old-people delivery service?" Santana repeats slowly as she lets the sheet fall, smirking when she notices Charlie's attention moving from getting dressed to being tempted into coming back to bed. "Your company is going to need a name Charlie. It can't be the old-people delivery service it sounds like you're _delivering _old people. If you want the business to succeed you need cards, you need advertisement, and to do that you need a _name_. Like something catchy so people know."

Charlie hums in response as she moves towards the bed pulling off her shirt and unbuttoning her jeans as she crawled towards Santana. She frowns when Santana puts her hand up and stops her. She narrows her eyes slightly, "Right. Catchy."

"I'm aware you're listening Charlie. I'm also aware that you're distracted by my breasts—" Santana trailed off when Charlie reached forward to grope her left breast, a pleased smile flitted across her face as she did it. "_Charlie_!"

"_Santana_."

Santana swats Charlie's hand away, trying to ignore how cute she was when she smiled at her like that. "I'm just trying to help you is all. I think we need to talk, about stuff."

"Is this about me leaving you alone?" Charlie asks tilting her head to the side.

Santana felt the pang immediately and bit her lip, "You have no idea how _alone _I felt—I mean you made it seem like we were never going to see each other again."

"We weren't if you hadn't kept your promise to befriend Quinn," Charlie pointed out. "How were you going to explain the fact that you knew me to your parents? To everyone else? At least you can talk about me now, you're friends with Quinn. I didn't just abandon you. Quinn's your friend, and she's tutoring you. Now you can _know me_ without anyone looking at it to hard."

"I left her alone in the library," Santana points suddenly feeling guilty. "_We_ left her alone in the library to go have _sex_ in a three-star hotel."

Charlie blinks slowly, sure Quinn might be annoyed but she was _smart_, and she knew that Santana was _different_. She wouldn't have done this if it was anyone else, "Quinn understands."

"Does she?" Santana challenges, "I mean, she's the only friend that I have right now that is—_real, _that knows and understands and doesn't wonder if I was raped or if they like I don't know ate my toes or something."

"Ate your toes?" Charlie echoes, raising a brow in confusion, before realizing what Santana was getting at. "We'll bribe her with _food_," Charlie finally says with a shrug. When it doesn't convince Santana she sighs, "We won't do it again. It's been awhile since I've seen you. Nearly two months Santana—I mean now we can hang out more. So, we _probably_ won't do it again."

"We're probably going to have sex again," Santana points out.

"Yeah, like right after you call your parents—" Charlie frowned when Santana swatted her with a pillow. She liked watching, it was _different_ when she was with Santana, every moan, watching her fingers clench the sweat slowly drip down her body—it was just _different_. She _wanted _to do it again.

"Is that all you think about?" Santana asks slightly exasperated as Charlie flashes her that crooked smile of hers, that makes her heart melt just a little bit and she sighs. "I need to talk to you, because even though Quinn is great, you're the only one that's been through the hell, I've been through. You _actually_ understand. Strange—there's been some weird stuff going on. I wasn't sure if I should tell Quinn, but I think I can make copies of things I'm super familiar with."

Charlie frowns at this all thoughts of having sex with Santana again evaporating, as she adjusts herself on the bed, "What?"

"I was at a party last night, and Kitty was drunk and I just wanted to get _home _by curfew, so I Just sort of _wished_ for my car to be there and I—don't know—like I mean I sound fucking _nuts_, and if there wasn't a car that looked exactly like mine, and _had the same dent_ on the left bumper, and a spare set of keys—just sitting there parked. I don't know what to do with it but I need to get rid of it. I just—you've got to know _someone_ who could I don't know take it away?" Santana looks up to see Charlie staring at her incredulously in a way that makes her feel incredibly self-conscious. "I know how it sounds—but—"

"I can get rid of it." Charlie tilts her head, "I mean I need a car for my _business_, I can pay for it—" Charlie said quickly.

"You don't need to," Santana interrupts, grateful that at least one problem was being taken care of. But that didn't even begin to help her with her current problem. "Charlie, I _make _things, I copy them or _something_. I just wish for something and it appears."

Charlie crossed her legs as she sat in the bed in front of Santana, "Can you copy anything like—I don't know diamonds? Gold? 100-dollar bills?" Charlie asked opening up her wallet and pulling out a hundred-dollar bill.

Santana studies the bill for a moment and focuses on it trying to copy it but nothing happens, she flushes. "I'm not lying," she says quickly.

"I know."

"I'm not—it _happened_—what do you mean you know? Is it happening to you as well?"

Charlie shoves the hundred-dollar bill into her wallet. "No. I don't create things, Sam said that I'm creating black holes or _something _similar. I don't know, I can't show you in here, it's not exactly room _friendly_."

"Sam?" There was a tinge of jealousy in Santana's voice. "Is she—"

"Sam's not a girl. He's a nerd, who knows a lot about these superpower things. Plus, he has a crush on Quinn, so he's doing this in hopes that Quinn forgets that she likes girls and decides to fuck him. I don't _trust him_, not really but I don't know the first thing about my powers other than I need to get them under control. They're _dangerous_." Charlie explains, tilting her head and picking up Santana's phone that had begun to ring and putting the phone in her hands. "_Parents_," she says finally.

Santana sighs and unlocks her phone, watching as Charlie rolls off the bed and goes back to putting on her clothes. She watches absentmindedly, for a moment before texting her parents. She chooses one of them to call, as Charlie sits on the couch and puts on her shoes. She'd have to get dressed soon, and they would really need to find something good for Quinn to eat. "Hi, papi, I'm just calling to check in, I'm with Quinn's twin sister and Quinn right now, I'll try you again soon," she said before hanging up. "What does Quinn like?"

"We'll get her a _proper _burger with fries, and all the garnishes, and like two sodas," Charlie says with a shrug, "And I'll promise not to do it again."

"Does that work?" Santana asks as she rolls out of bed.

"Not all the time," Charlie admits. "Let's go find the best bacon cheeseburger in the city."

~O~

A greasy bag of food was plopped into her lap and Quinn frowned and looked up at Charlie and Santana, her eyes zeroing in on the fact that Charlie was _holding _Santana's hand and it looked like they had just _fucked_. Santana had this weird glow about her. "So—you two dating?" She asks gripping the bag and moving it to the table so she could check the contents.

"No."

Quinn tilts her head at the fact that they had both said it at the same time. She wasn't going to pry she was just going to enjoy her bacon cheeseburger. "Right, yeah—sure," she says as she picks out a fry. "No onions?"

"No onions, or pickles," Charlie repeats as she pulls out the chair for Santana and watches as she sits down.

Santana places the large drink beside Quinn who takes it gratefully, and she picks up her pen. She'd spent close to three hours slacking off, she needed to focus now, and that would be difficult with Charlie right there. She glances up to look at Charlie only to see her walking away. "Where are you going?"

"To get some books on running a business. I'm going to start hiring people, I think, and I need to read about this stuff and how to make money and stuff. I figure since I'm here might as well get some work done—I wasn't going to leave without saying goodbye," Charlie said holding up her hands.

Quinn flicked her eyes at her twin again, also new. Charlie would just get up and leave, she didn't say goodbye. But she was being _sweet_ to Santana, and Charlie wasn't _sweet_. She wasn't even kind most days. She couldn't even remember a time where Charlie had smiled this much. Her father's handiwork coupled with their mother's death had hardened her twin. Charlie wasn't _broken_, but she wasn't whole either. If Santana made that better, if Santana helped Charlie be _better_, than she'd fully support this relationship. She leans in once Charlie had headed off. "I'm going to use the fact that my twin _likes_ you to get her to do what I want."

"What do you want?" Santana asks raising a brow.

"I want her to get a _haircut_," Quinn responds with a shrug.

Santana rolled her eyes, "Whatever, and she doesn't like me—"

"_Bullshit_, Charlie doesn't do _this_ for other girls. I don't even think she likes _people_. But she likes you, and she trusts you," Quinn says. And if Santana could pull Charlie away from Dani, even better. She needed to keep her twin on the straight and narrow.


	16. Part 01: Chapter 15

"So, I mean, we need to find a safe place to do some testing, I've done a lot of research reading every single comic I could get my hands on that even had something close to your powerset," Sam informed her leaning in closely so he could keep his voice down.

Charlie chewed on her sandwich. "Okay. So, what _can _I do?"

"I don't know this is all _theoretical_, it's not like we have actual science to back this up. We're going to need to work on your stamina and strength, I don't know how it works, but the stronger your body maybe it sort of affects you somehow. We need to make sure you're healthy, like who knows your heart might give out or something—all of this is _new_."

Charlie frowned as she put her sandwich down, "Fine, but we need to find a place where I can use my abilities without any prying eyes—" Charlie stops speaking and tilts her head towards Matt who had dropped his tray beside hers. It's only a second later when she feels arms wrap around her shoulders and she can feel Dani leaning on her. "Dani," Charlie said flatly moving to remove her arms from around her.

Matt narrowed his eyes at Sam, "You need to leave now," He crosses his arms when Sam hesitates for a moment and looks at Charlie.

"Sorry Sam, but it's super important we talk to her about it now," Dani said as she moved to take a seat beside Charlie.

"I—"

"Was in the middle of the conversation with Sam, it was important," Charlie said looking at Sam. "Sit back down," she orders before reaching for her sandwich again. "I was discussing something important with Sam."

"You mean his weird crush on your sister?" Dani smirks when Sam blushes, only for the smile to fade when Charlie's hand moves and grips her wrist tightly enough to bruise it. "Charlie," she winces at the cold look in Charlie's eyes. She'd done something to upset her.

"That was _rude_, apologize." Charlie informed her.

"Sorry, sheesh I was out of line," Dani said quickly towards Sam and sighs in relief when Charlie let's go. She rubs her wrists and glances at Matt who looks outraged on her behalf, but she didn't mind. "Look it's important we need to do another job—"

"No," Charlie said firmly. She had managed to get nearly half a million dollars, all of which was going to be pumped into her business.

"Seriously?"

"I'm focusing on my business right now, Sam's apart of it. If you want to earn some cash then you can come work for me, but I'm not going to put my neck on the line for you again, only for you to blow it on stupid shit like you did before."

"Charlie—" Dani protests immediately nodding towards Sam.

"Oh, Sam already _knows_," Charlie says with a shrug of her shoulders. "If you want money you can go back to hitting up convenience stores or you can come work for me. But what I did was a one-time thing for you, I don't have the time or the inclination to keep doing it."

"I—" Dani begins only to stop when Charlie phone starts to ring, she frowns when the name _Santana _lights up on her screen and Charlie's lip quirk upward into a smile. Dani blinks, not wanting to jump to conclusions but the smile doesn't disappear a moment later. Instead Charlie begins to text back almost immediately. It would be one thing if it was Quinn but she needed to know who this bitch was. "We'll work for you."

"We will?" Matt insists. He hadn't agreed to that, he wasn't going to follow Charlie around, she was dangerous and he was still unsure as to _how _she had managed to break in. He had seen what she had done, explosives probably or _something_, but the whole thing made him uncomfortable.

"Yeah, we will, we _owe you_," Dani insists wrapping her arms around Charlie's arm, grinning when Charlie doesn't immediately shove her away."

Charlie stopped and looked at Dani, surprise on her features, she hadn't actually expected Dani to agree. It had been meant as a throwaway comment. But she was going to need help if they wanted to make this business work, she couldn't do everything by herself, and with Sam's father willing to teach her how to drive. "Okay."

"Not okay," Matt said crossing his arms over his chest. "I don't trust you, I'm not going to _trust _you until you tell me how you did it. I need to know that no one is going to come after me and for fucks sake who else have you told? Sam's a fucking goody-two shoes, and yet you're trusting him not to _narc_?"

"I'm not going to narc!" Sam insists crossing his arms over his chest. Charlie had _super powers_, something that they clearly didn't know about and he wasn't about to open his mouth.

"Will everyone please _shut-up_," Charlie insists rubbing at her temples. "I trust Sam, which is all you need to know. I don't care if you don't trust me, I am not going to share my methods with you. If you don't want to work with me that's _fine_. I'm hardly holding a gun to your head Matt. But if you're not going to work for me then you're going to need to leave. I need to talk business and other things."

"Selling drugs to old people? I'm not a dealer," Matt says shaking his head.

Charlie didn't reply as Matt pulled himself up and walked away, stopping to see if Dani would follow him but she didn't and she can't help but shrug at him. She would deal with him later, but for now. "We're not dealing in drugs it's an old people delivery service—"

"We're delivering old people?" Dani asks raising a brow.

"No—_fuck_—we're delivering groceries and drugs to old people for a fee. I need another name for my service," Charlie mutters. Santana had been right.

"I think it's a brilliant idea," Dani insists. "I mean it could use a name but there probably aren't that many services around that do that, so do you have a list of customers?"

"A few, but we need to start making moves right now going door to door and letting them get to know us—" Charlie's hand shot out to her phone when it began to buzz and she looked at it and grinned at it. "I've got to take a phone call," she says excusing herself.

Dani watches as Charlie steps away for a moment and the smile on her face fades as she looks at Sam who immediately flinches under her harsh gaze. "Who is Santana?"

"I don't know—"

"Sam, I will make your life a living hell if you don't tell me. Who the _fuck _is Santana?"

"I don't know! I've never met her, but she's a friend from Quinn's school, I think," Sam says defensively. "I mean if Charlie's dating you then you don't have anything to worry about right?"

Dani frowned they weren't dating and it had been ages since she'd even asked the damn question. But she knew Charlie would say no, not that it mattered. This Santana Lopez couldn't be all that.

~O~

Santana grinned as she took a sip of the coffee that she had just summoned—or created, and groaned at how perfect it was. The hint of hazelnuts, the right amount of cream, and the right amount of sweetener. Having a perfect coffee every day was one of the perks of her new-found powers. She hadn't tried to do anything big with her abilities yet, she couldn't destroy or suck them away like Charlie could so it was just down to normal everyday things. If she forgot her pen in her locker she'd create a new one. And she could finally talk to Charlie whenever she wanted.

She knew her parents were getting a bit weirded out by the fact that she texted Charlie constantly, but Charlie always responded, and even though it wasn't the same as seeing her face to face, it was just _easier _now that Charlie was in her life. She takes a seat in front of Quinn who glances up at her from where she was doodling in her sketchbook. "What are you working on? I thought you weren't taking art this year."

"I'm not, Charlie can't draw stick figures. So, she asked me to help her design a logo that was cool. That was all I have to work with. '_Make sure it's cool Quinn, so people will remember it,_'" Quinn shakes her head as she mimics her twin.

"That's a very good impression," Santana says with a smile, "For a moment you actually _looked_ and sounded just like her."

"Shut up," Quinn grunts and turns the sketchbook so Santana can see possible design ideas. "I don't know why she's insisting on just focusing on a delivery service for old people, new parents need things as well. Diapers, formula, whatever. So instead why not just call it I don't know Fabray's delivery service or something?"

"Because it sounds to close to Fab-gay," Santana points out grinning when Quinn shoots her an annoyed look. "I'm just saying. Why don't you draw a race car or something with like a clock on it, so people know she's like fast and on time? You can call it like Express delivery or something stupid like that for now, you know just put it on some cards and slip them under people's doors in your neighborhood. She should probably also get a second phone or something."

Quinn hummed and began to draw out Santana's suggestion, "You're good at this."

Santana shrugged, "I just want to help, and I mean it's better than the old people delivery service. Like at this point anything is better than that." Santana tapped her finger on her coffee mug and filled it up more before looking at Quinn. "I was thinking about having a party at my place—you should totally invite Charlie—"

"If you want to have sex with my twin again, then that's fine. I'm not judging you even though I totally am because it's my sister." Quinn frowns finally looking up. "But I'm not going to be the third wheel between the two of you."

"I'm not—" Santana flushes and looks away for a moment. "You're right, you're my friend too. I just—like I can't explain it. But when Charlie is around it's like she's the _only _person near me."

"Yet you don't want to date her? I mean—"

"I'm not supposed to be dating anyone right now, and I mean I like Charlie. I really like her, but I mean—would she say yes? How would it work? I mean my parents are already super suspicious of like everyone new. Besides it's not like she's with anyone else right?"

Quinn was quiet for a moment, "Right."

Santana narrowed her eyes, not believing that for a moment. "Who is she?"

"Charlie isn't _dating_ anyone else, there is no one else. Charlie likes you She likes you a _lot_, whether or not she'll say yes to dating you is another matter entirely. She's never shown interest in dating anyone before, let alone spending her money on someone else. But you're there and she does it with you. Don't you think that's strange? I mean it's like the two of you are _connected_."

"We did go through something horrific together—you don't understand—"

"You're right, I don't get what you went through but I know my sister. And I know this is odd even for her, and probably for you too." Quinn glances around and drops her voice as she leans in. "You got superpowers, and trust me I like the effect you've had on my twin so I don't want to having this conversation with you of all people. But is it also possible that what they _did _to you linked you and Charlie together in a way that isn't exactly _normal_? I mean—think about it, really _think _about it."

"I don't care, Charlie's a good person. There could be worse people that I'm tied to."

"I love my sister, but I need you to understand that Charlie's not a _good _person. She's a good person when she's _with _you, but my sister is not the person you think she is. I'm telling you this because I actually want you and Charlie to work. She's _better_ when she's around you, and that's unfair to expect from you. But Charlie isn't this _good_ person. She's not even good adjacent." Quinn sighs, she hadn't wanted to do this she hadn't wanted to have this conversation with Santana at least not yet. "Charlie doesn't have a girlfriend. She has a girl who is absolutely devoted to her. I mean she's like a _puppy_, and Charlie treats her like shit. She fucks her and discards her like trash, that's my sister. I love her more than anything but that's who she is."

"She's _never_ treated me like that."

"I know, I did say that there was something off which is why I'm questioning all of this," Quinn admits. "You're like my only friend Santana. Charlie may be _better_ with you. But, I just don't want you to be Dani. So just keep that in mind. If Charlie starts treating you differently, like she treats Dani then you need to end the relationship. No matter how much it hurts, because it's _pathetic_ to see Dani going around chasing Charlie. It is. You're Santana Lopez you don't _do _pathetic."

Santana frowns at the statement, Quinn hadn't seen her at her worst. But she was no longer trapped in that shitty little cell, "Damn straight," she says. She would talk to Charlie about Dani. Maybe it would be best if she put up some ground rules with Charlie, even if they weren't dating.


	17. Part 01: Chapter 16

"So."

Santana winced and looked up at her parents from where she was picking at her food, things had been _better_, but they still had their moments. But now that they had eased off she didn't mind their occasional question about her life. Though that didn't mean that she couldn't be wary of what they could possibly ask her. "Yes?"

Miguel frowned, deciding to just come out and say it. "When are we going to meet this Charlie person you've been spending so much time around and texting constantly?"

Santana flushed deeply and cleared her throat, "I don't see what the big deal is, we're not dating or anything—"

"We didn't say you were dating," Maribel interrupts looking at Miguel, well that certainly answered that question. She wasn't sure how she felt about the new information that Santana had just admitted to, though she was glad that her daughter was still predictable. "We just want to meet her."

"_Why_?" Santana asked.

"Because you're obviously dating," Miguel muttered under his breath only to be pinched by his wife. "You spend more time talking to her then you do Quinn, or any of your other friends, we're just interested to see what has you so fascinated. I mean you haven't really had any friends over apart from Quinn, we just want to see what's going on in your life."

"Yeah, but Charlie's not exactly—" Santana frowned, Charlie had shown little interest in meeting her parents, of seeing where she lived. "Like she's rough around the edges, she's not _Quinn_."

"_Santana_, we don't care if she's rough around the edges, she's important to you and we'd like to meet her, and get to know the people you hang out with. If it makes you feel better you can invite Quinn with her, and we're not going to judge her. We _promise_."

"We're not?" Miguel whispered to his wife. "But they're—"

"We're not going to judge her. If you two want to date—well it's only customary anyway," Maribel pointed out.

"We don't—" Santana began, before throwing up her arms giving up. Her parents weren't going to drop this. "Fine, but you have to be nice to her. I mean it, if you make one comment about her hair or her clothes or anything, we're not having dinner, and I'm never inviting anyone over again."

"You're being dramatic dear, if you like her—if you want to be with her as long as she's not some drug addict, and treats you well, and is a hard worker, then we're not going to stop you."

Santana chewed on the inside of her cheek for a moment. She hadn't really given it much thought, but she wanted her parents to like her. If they knew what Charlie had done for her they would probably marry them off tomorrow. "She owns her own business, I mean she's not very good at the marketing thing and I help her with it, but she's learning, and her business is growing, she's already managed to put a bit of money away, so she can buy a second car."

"Oh?" Maribel asks, leaning forward. "What's her business?"

"She does deliveries for old people and like lazy people and Quinn suggested she tap into the new parents, or the parents with a billion kids, and just need someone to run to the store to pick up diapers and formula and stuff. I mean so she's a hard worker."

"And she's texting you all the time?"

"Not when she's driving or working, but at night," Santana said quickly. Which was mostly true, Charlie didn't rush to the phone when she was busy but she always texted back.

"So is that where—" Maribel bit her lip and hummed, none of the detectives had mentioned that Charlie was working it was _highly _probable that's where Russell Fabray was getting his money from. They had narrowed down the rash of robberies, and focused in on the area that seemed the most plausible. The only person who had been waving around money lately was a Russell Fabray. "Well she seems rather _industrious_, and that's a good thing. Don't worry we're not going to ask her how she's doing at school or what her plans are."

Santana frowns at the idea watching her mother, she could tell that there was probably another reason her mom wanted the twins over for dinner. "I'll ask, and maybe she can take some time off work."

"Sure, that sounds great. We'll make something nice for her alright?" Miguel said with a shrug of his shoulders.

Santana pulled out her phone and flipped it to Quinn's number. It was probably best to go through her, if only to help Charlie along with this. She didn't doubt that Charlie would say yes, she seemed open to anything she suggested. A haircut, new clothes that framed her body well, eating slightly healthier—trying a few new sex positions. Quinn responds in a few moments and she looks at her parents, "When do you want to interrogate her?"

"It's not an—" Miguel sighs and looks at Maribel. "She's your daughter."

"_Our_, we made her together," Maribel smiles. "How about this Saturday night?"

Santana bit her lip, "I'll check with her, but I'll see what I can do alright? Promise me you won't interrogate her?"

"We won't, we promise," Miguel swore crossing his fingers beneath the table.

Santana frowned at him but shook her head, hopefully she would talk to Charlie tonight and coax her into agreeing, a tasteful shot of her in a bra would _probably_ do the trick if Charlie said no.

~O~

Charlie licked her busted up lip, as she kept her arms protecting her face as her father—_sperm donor_, unloaded into her. His heavy dirty boots, slamming into ribcage once more, with enough force to lift her off the ground. She grunts, refusing to give him the pleasure of hearing her pleading for him to stop. It was even harder to not simply open her palms and _show him_, that she was no longer going to be bullied. Her head snaps back with force colliding with the wall, as his boot manages to catch her chin, causing stars to explode in her vision, but he finally seems to have had enough, giving her a moment of respite as she watches the spinning image of him head towards the fridge to get another beer.

"Teach you to disrespect me," Russell muttered under his breath.

Charlie's finger twitched angrily, he spent his unemployment checks buying booze for himself, and wallowing in self pity. She'd just pointed out she had a _job_, something he should look into. She wisely kept her mouth shut as she tries to stand only to land hard on her ass. She gives up quickly and leans against the wall and stares at him watching as he takes a hefty gulp of his rank smelling beer.

"Get that look off your face," Russell snaps at her as he takes a seat on the couch. "You live under my _roof_, you live under my rules. I am your _father_," he says picking up a half-empty can and launching it at her, the beer slams against the wall above her head, drenching her with beer.

The warm sticky liquid drips down on her head, stinging when it hits her lip and she rubs at it. She bit back a biting comment, as the world finally stopped spinning. She wants to get up and walk away, but she doesn't want to cause him to react to her presence. She inches towards the exit while he's distracted by some stupid thing he's watching on their shitty television. When she's sure he's not paying attention, she scrambles towards her room, noting that her things were not where she had left them. He had ransacked her room yet again, and had probably found the money that she'd left. She hadn't said anything, instead she would put another two thousand dollars somewhere for him to find. She's about to enter her room when the door to Quinn's room swings open and she turns to look at her, she grimaces when Quinn pulls her into her room and closes the door.

"Charlie—you know you can stop it any time, right?" Quinn presses. "He's a bully, but if you show him what you can do—"

"No. He can't know, he'll run his mouth and someone will hear about it and they'll come to take me away and use me for some lab experiment. We're almost eighteen, and the business is taking off. We made close to five thousand dollars _after_ all expenses were paid." Charlie grimaces, plus she'd been feeding money through her company slowly. "I'm fine. I'll just put a band-aid on."

"It's _not _fine, I agreed that we should both go to Santana's house for _dinner_," Quinn hisses. "Santana's parents want to _meet you_."

"They want to meet me?" Charlie crinkles her nose as Quinn tilts her head up to take a better look at the damage. "_Why_?"

"Because you're having sex with their daughter?" Quinn replies dryly moving to get some cotton balls and some antiseptic. They'd have to get some makeup for Charlie to wear on the weekend. "So, we need to go out and get you something not ripped or torn, you want to keep spending time around Santana then you need to be _respectful_, and open and do what they ask."

"Do they know I'm having sex with Santana?" Charlie asks wincing when Quinn dabs at her lip.

"I don't know but if you impress them maybe you'll have their permission or at least they'll allow you to actually _date _Santana." Quinn says looking at Charlie. "Which you're basically already doing already."

"We're not—"

"Uh-huh," Quinn responds shaking her head. "Right whatever you say. Just be on your best behavior, Santana's doing this for you, and if you fuck up I think she'll be upset."

"Quinn, I look like _shit_," Charlie points out. There was no way that her face would heal by the weekend.

"You do deliveries and you tripped and fell down some stairs, or something believable, it's one night." Quinn points out watching as Charlie finally nods slowly. Once Charlie and Santana started dating things would start looking up for Charlie. She'd finally stop trying to build a criminal enterprise.


	18. Part 01: Chapter 17

Quinn glanced over at Charlie who was sitting there with her hands on the wheel of her car, she was just staring into space. "Just be—_polite_," Quinn says after a moment. She can't help but smile when Charlie turns to look at her, an irritated look on her face. "I was going to say be yourself, but we _both _know that's a terrible idea."

Charlie scowled, "I can't remember why I like you."

"Because with your current line of business it's quite possible that you will need a kidney or _something_, and I'm your identical twin. Besides if I didn't _babysit_ you then you probably would have shown up here with torn jeans and a stained shirt. When was the last time you did laundry?" Quinn said flicking Charlie's forehead. "Don't forget the pie—it's _good manners_, to bring something for the host."

"Why? I was certain that I wasn't given a choice in the matter," Charlie muttered as she turned around in her seat and grabbed the pie before flipping the visor and looking at the makeup job that Quinn had done on her face. Her face still _hurt_, but Quinn had managed to hide most of it through a shit ton of makeup. It felt like there was a pound on her face, Quinn had been overly generous. She reaches for her chin to rub at it only for Quinn to immediately swat her hand.

"Don't touch, we don't have time to fix it, and we don't want Santana's mother asking any questions. She's a state's attorney. Her dad's a doctor—"

"I know this, I know how to talk to people," Charlie interrupts, in a testy tone.

Quinn tries not to smile at this, before deciding to simply let Charlie keep thinking that. "Come on, remember try and keep her parents engaged. You can't just stare at her daughter, and eye-fuck her all night."

Charlie opens the door and steps out, "I don't eye—" She quickly looks around her cheeks flaming in embarrassment when the door swings open and Santana waves at them. She fidgets with her sleeve the best she can with a large pie in her hand. She felt _ridiculous _in the damn monkey suit that Quinn had _forced _her into.

"You look fine," Quinn said moving to grip Charlie by the arm and move her towards Santana. Charlie being _nervous_ and actually caring that she looked nice, yet another sign that Charlie's trip into the void, or the singularity or whatever it _was_, had done more than give her twin powers, it had also scrambled her personality and bound her to Santana Lopez. Though it was only for a brief moment that Charlie looked out of place, as she got closer her confidence seemed to return in spades, especially with the appreciative looks Santana was shooting her.

"You came!"

"Maybe—" Charlie grimaced when Quinn elbowed her hard and she glanced past Santana to spot her parents listening to what was being said. "—I was just curious to see where you lived," Charlie finished lamely. "You have a really nice house."

Quinn snorted, as she slipped by Santana, "Hello again. Dr. Lopez, Mrs. Lopez. This is my identical twin Charlie."

Charlie froze for a moment and immediately stuck out the pie in her arms for Santana's parents. "I brought a pie."

Santana bit her lip, trying not to laugh out loud, Charlie looked wonderfully nervous and it was cute, and it was normal. "They don't bite," she murmured in Charlie's ear watching as Charlie shivers. She turns and looks at her parents, "At least they promised me they wouldn't."

"That was very kind of you," Maribel said moving to take the box from Charlie's hands. "Now come and tell us all about yourself since our daughter _hasn't_ told us much about you. Despite the fact that you've been spending quite a bit of time together."

Charlie nods wordlessly, but doesn't quite move. She wasn't _used_ to situations like this. She didn't know how to handle them, but she lets Santana lead her to the fancy dining room and she studies her surroundings for a moment before realizing that Santana's father was staring at her curiously. "I own my own small delivery service. Santana's been offering me some tips on how to grow it. She told me that I needed a name for the service," she blurts out.

Santana rolled her eyes and looked at her parents, "I really didn't want to call it an old-person delivery service. Besides, you're not just delivering to old people, are you?"

"Uh, no, we now make deliveries for new parents, and people who've just gotten out of the hospital. I've already hired two people," Charlie explains, she was babbling but it seemed to fill the awkward silence.

"Two people?" Maribel asks as she puts the pie down and turns to look at Charlie narrowing her eyes slightly.

Santana immediately recognized the tone, "_Mami_, you promised."

"Promised?" Charlie presses turning to look at Quinn who had made herself comfortable. She knew if Quinn could get away with it, she'd have a big bowl of popcorn in her lap.

"My mom's a prosecutor, she's going to interrogate you now," Santana grumbles. "Even though she promised she wouldn't."

"Well it's not everyday that I meet a young entrepreneur, and honestly I might be in need of those services, my husband eats me out of house and home some days."

"_Hey_," Miguel said crossing his arms over his chest.

Maribel glanced at him they had decided that she'd be the one to cross-examine the teenager, and she needed to get her comfortable. "Why don't you go check on dinner," she suggests.

"It's okay Santana, I mean it's another customer, right? That's good for business," Charlie said. Santana lived in a really good neighborhood, which meant that they'd be able to charge a bit more, which would make it easier for them to clean the money.

Santana rolls her eyes, Charlie really didn't know what she was walking into. Her mother wasn't to be trifled with. She would rather be dragging Charlie up to her room and making the teen do dirty things to her, but they needed to play it safe. "Fine, but after she interrogates you, I want to show you _around_."

Charlie tries to keep the smile off her face, she just needed to impress Santana's parents and all would be well. "Um we're still working on the rates, and maybe getting a website. I don't know much about doing something like that though, so you still have to text or call in your orders."

"Interesting, I was just wondering how you got your capital for your business? Did your dad help?" If that was how Russell Fabray was getting his money to spend around that would take him off her suspect list.

"No, I did odd jobs and saved every penny I made, until I could buy a brand-new bike, and then I did more deliveries, until I could buy a car, and pay for lessons. I work a lot." Charlie explains easily.

"Oh? Your father must be proud of you."

Quinn narrowed her eyes slightly, wondering why Maribel had brought up Russell in such a short amount of time. Maribel had never asked about her parents before.

"Yeah, I mean sure he is," Charlie said with a shrug. She didn't want to think about him at all. Everything hurt, and she really just wanted to go and curl up somewhere with Santana and maybe do some semi-sexual things to her, while Quinn totally wasn't paying attention.

"I understand he's out of a job—"

"_Mami_," Santana interrupts. It was none of their damn business.

"I was just asking if Charlie here takes on a lot of the responsibilities, it's _impressive._ It's hard enough to get Santana to clean her room on time."

Charlie adjusts slightly in her seat and a smile crosses her face, one that doesn't quite reach her eyes. "I do, I mean my dad's been on unemployment for _ages_, and disability. It's the economy, I just think he's hoping for a job that's in his field you know? I mean he's doing some odd jobs every now and again, to make some money but I do help out as much as I can."

"Oh? Do you know what kind of jobs?"

Charlie shrugs her shoulders, "I've got school and work, and I'm honestly a bit to busy to worry about what he does. It seems like whatever he's been doing has been fruitful," Charlie lies with ease. "So, I hope that it's good for him."

Santana flicked her attention to her mother for a moment, noting that she was eating up what Charlie was currently _spewing_. Her mother was a seasoned prosecutor, the fact that she believed Charlie was troubling, because it was _false_. Quinn had never mentioned that their father was making more money, and Charlie didn't have _anything_ nice to say about him. But it sounded _real_, like Charlie was being completely truthful and it bothered her. "Okay, that's enough questions I want to give Charlie the tour. You can grill her more during dinner. If you can get her to speak through all the food that you plan on putting in front of her."

"Food?" Charlie repeats a smile crossing her features.

"Santana all your friends are far too skinny. Look at her she's practically skin and bones!" Maribel points out.

"Come on Charlie, Quinn, let's go to my room."

"Keep the door open," Maribel said watching as Santana shot her a scandalized look.

"Mom they're _twins_, I would never! Never ever," Santana says crossing her arms over her shoulders. It was _offensive_, Quinn would be chaperoning, and Quinn was starting to get bitchy every time they ignored her to do other things.

Quinn rolls her eyes and looks at Maribel, "All I need is a squirt bottle."

"_Quinn_."

Maribel laughed, "I knew I liked you, thank you for helping her with her school work Quinn."

"It's been no problem," Quinn said as she moved to join her twin and Santana s they moved up the stairs. It was quiet for a moment before Charlie reached to hold Santana's hand. The action was enough for her to _gag_. More lovey-dovey stuff that she could care less about. But when Santana withdraws her hand from Charlie as they approach her room, is when Quinn starts paying attention again.

"What was that?" Santana asks keeping her voice down.

"What was what?" Charlie asked reaching to scratch her cheek only for Quinn to gently swat her hand. She was getting tired of that happening.

"You lied to my mom, I mean I would have believed you but—I know better." Charlie was an _excellent liar_, if she hadn't known about Russell, if she didn't have an idea she would have bought into what Charlie was saying. Which was troubling, she should be able to tell when Charlie was lying. They had been in a cell for weeks together. They had gone through so much together, and now she couldn't help but to go over everything Charlie had said.

"Why was your mom asking about our father anyway?"

"Because he's been spending money that is unaccounted for," Charlie says with a shrug. "I mean I know that he dropped nearly ten thousand dollars on the _races_ or some sporting event or another. People on the street talk. That talk gets back to the cops and the prosecutors." Charlie frowns slightly when Santana pulls away from her. "I didn't want to talk about him, and if your mom can put him away he's a problem I don't want to worry about."

"Have you been lifting wallets again?" Santana asked. She hadn't really _thought _about it, mostly because she didn't care. But what could she do if Charlie went to jail. "Is that how you've been getting your money?"

"No. I haven't been lifting wallets again, I _swear_. I don't do that anymore," Charlie answers truthfully frowning when Santana doesn't immediately drop the subject. It was more or less true, Santana didn't _need_ to know. She had a feeling that she'd frown upon her extra-curricular activities. Instead Santana looks at Quinn who is sitting at Santana's desk.

"She's not lifting wallets again," Quinn said backing her up. "Business has been _good_, really good Santana. I do the books if you want to see them."

Santana frowns before biting her lip, "Sorry, I just—you lied to my mom."

Charlie shifts nervously for a moment, before using the inside of her sleeve to wipe at her face, revealing the massive amounts of makeup that was caked on. "I just need him gone. I'm sorry, but I didn't want her to get CPS involved, I don't want to move away from you. I don't want to lose you," Charlie admits, wincing when Santana immediately rushes to check her out.

"Charlie—he did this?" Santana's eyes widen slightly, this changed things. She was tempted to march down there and tell her mother _exactly_ what was going on.

Charlie pulls away, "I mean, I didn't want your parents to think I'm a bad person, a _bad kid_, because of what he did. So, if she puts him away for whatever, then I'm okay with that for now. I'm trying to be a better person." It was a small lie, but Santana didn't seem to notice it. Instead she relaxes a bit when Santana's arms wrap around her tightly, and even though her ribs ached. She hugs back. "I just really want your parents to like me. It's why I dressed up, and everything. So, they let me keep seeing you. Quinn said if they didn't like me I couldn't see you anymore."

Santana turns to glare at Quinn who was playing on her computer. Quinn shrugs in response. "She was going to wear a shirt that had ketchup stains on it. You're welcome."

"My parents aren't that bad, and even if they had said no we couldn't see each other anymore, that wasn't going to stop me from seeing you again. I mean sure the sex is nice—"

"Just nice?" Charlie frowns at this.

"I'm sitting right here," Quinn groans at them. This was so barf-worthy.

Santana laughs, "It's _more than _nice, and you know it. But I like you a lot, and I guess, I was just worried that you didn't like me as much as you said you did. I mean—" Santana frowns slightly at this and shakes her head. She sounded like some love-struck teenager.

"I do _like _you, I mean—I was hoping that if this went well we could you know—be official. I mean I put on this uncomfortable pair of pants, and this stiff shirt so I could impress your parents so they trusted me."

"I thought it was because Quinn told you too."

"I mean that too," Charlie added flushing when Santana smiles at her expense. "I mean do you want to—"

"The Notebook isn't as sappy as this," Quinn muttered under her breath, but she was promptly ignored.

"We'll have to keep the door open whenever you're here," Santana points out.

"I don't think your parents were going to allow you close the door anyway," Charlie replies.

"True, might as well make sure that the reason at least makes sense—" Santana smiles into the kiss when Charlie leans forward capturing her lips with her own. She can't help but wrap her arms around Charlie's neck loving the feeling that runs through her body. It's like sparks, it's like a live current, that causes every cell in her body to hum and she _almost_ forgets that Quinn's in the room. Well she had forgotten that Quinn was in the room until a pillow smacked them both in the face.

"Seriously you two. Get a room."

"We're in a _room_, my room—" Santana grumbles throwing the pillow back at Quinn.

"Your parents are downstairs and you want to make this a _thing_, get a hold of yourself for now." Quinn shook her head, she was happy for the both of them but that didn't mean she wasn't wary. This could go very well for her sanity, or it could go very poorly, and with her luck she knew how it would go.


	19. Part 01: Chapter 18

"Yale? I mean we should head to Columbia together, we can be roommates," Santana said as she pushed open the doors and walked down the steps of McKinley, with Quinn.

"Ugh, _no_. I want a room that's a _refuge_, not one where you'll kick me out every weekend when Charlie comes to visit you," Quinn groaned. For the past year, she'd put up with it. The two of them sneaking off to do sexual things with one another. She'd heard the _honeymoon _period was supposed to end, but it never seemed to with them.

"Fine, get your _own_ room, across the hall or something. My parents are like getting super weird, like I think they want me to stay in state so they can like monitor me. I'm trying my best not to snap at them, but I mean _come on. _It's New York."

"Yeah with insane prices, for like tiny bedrooms and rats that drag along _pizza's_. What's so great about New York?" Quinn grumbled.

"Um, all the lesbians that you can _hit _on, and you know lose your virginity to?" Santana teases, laughing when Quinn rolls her eyes. "I mean—" It's a low rumble and the familiar pull that lets her know that Charlie's now in the parking lot and a smile crosses her face as Charlie parks.

"And this is why I'm not moving into the city with you." Quinn mutters under her breath, she wasn't sore about this. Charlie was happy, like _actually _happy. They both were, and it was both sickening and sweet at the same time. When Charlie wasn't around Santana was her best friend, hell they'd gotten better at including her, and it wasn't like they had sex _all the time_. Just most of the time. She was just tired of feeling like a third-wheel. She watches as Charlie moves to grab Santana's bags and gives her a quick kiss and shakes her head. They were _good _together, and Charlie actually did _laundry_. "What not going to take my bags too?" Quinn teases as she slides into the back seat dropping her bag on the floor and leaning back.

Charlie shrugs her shoulders at this and turns her attention to Santana, pulling her close. "I'll drop you home, I can't stay. An employee didn't show up today, so I've got to cover their shift."

Santana's eyes narrowed as she looked at her girlfriend, "Dani?" she questions, her tone contained enough venom to alert Charlie to the fact that something might be wrong.

"Yeah," Charlie said, looking away for a moment. "I think she's going to quit soon, she's been hanging out with Matt again—" Charlie jerked forward when Quinn jammed her finger into her side. She turns to her twin who gives her a flat look and she sighs. "I—"

"It's fine, it's fine Charlie, she knows you're mine. You made it abundantly clear," Santana said reaching for Charlie's hands. The irritation passes, when Charlie's fingers link with hers.

"Seriously let's just go, I have an admissions essay to write," Quinn grumbled, the last thing she needed was for them to get all lovey-dovey again.

Charlie flips Quinn off, "Okay, _okay_, I'll drop you off and then I seriously have to get to work," They were pulling in more than twenty-grand a month now, and she was currently in talks to be the official delivery service for one of the assisted living facilities.

"I think it's about time you raised your prices Charlie, I mean not for all your old customers, at least not yet, but the new ones. Give it a couple of years, and then increase the prices," Santana suggested. She knew that look on Charlie's face.

"You think? I don't want to scare off potential customers?"

"You're still considerably cheaper than most of the other services, and you said you would think about uniforms remember?" Santana reminds her.

Charlie crinkled her nose, "I know, I know, after the Dani incident, you're right we _need_ uniforms, but they're just all so _itchy_, and I think I look like a dork."

"You do," Quinn says as she pulls out her tablet.

Santana laughs, "I mean it will look pretty dorky, but you don't have to worry."

"You'll still want to have sex with me?" Charlie asks, trying to keep the amusement off her face.

"Sure, when you take off the dorky uniform," Santana snorts and dodges Quinn's attempt to whack her arm. She raises her hand to fend Quinn off as she laughs even harder. "It's just clothes, they generally don't end up staying on her body for long—"

"_Come on! _You promised no more details about your sex life!" Quinn groans.

"Santana, we did promise," Charlie agreed.

"Yeah because she's not getting any," Santana reminds Charlie.

"Fuck off," Quinn grumbles, her cheeks flushing. She needed to find a girlfriend so she could show them how _annoying _they were. But it wasn't like there were plenty of options at McKinley and she was busy with helping Charlie run her criminal enterprise. Though Charlie didn't need to clean as much money, her business was legitimately taking in a lot money, and she had more than earned her entire university tuition. Charlie had already promised to help her through, wherever she went.

Santana pauses when she notices her mother waiting on the front steps of their house, and tilts her head. Her mother was _super_ busy most of the time and she didn't quite know what to make of this impromptu meeting. She glances over at Charlie who looked just as surprised as she felt. "Look they weren't that upset when they caught you in your underwear a few weeks ago—I mean she's probably just here to make sure that you know—that you're actually leaving and not you know being seduced by me." Santana promises, it had been embarrassing but her parents had only lectured her about safe-sex and her father had shown her some uncomfortable diagrams.

"Wait—they think you're the one seducing Charlie?" Quinn asked surprised.

Santana raises a brow, "Really that's where you want to plant your flag, that my parents think that I'm the seductress in the relationship? My parents just _know me_," Santana sniffed indignantly. Charlie was _hers_ as far as she was concerned, she probably could get Charlie to wear a shirt in front of Dani that indicated that was the case. Just so Dani _understood_.

Charlie pulls into the driveway, and only semi-listening to Santana and Quinn bicker, her interest was on Maribel. It wasn't as if she _hadn't _noticed the sketchy cars in her neighborhood that were clear signs of a stakeout. She's not even particularly surprised when Maribel approaches the car and she pushes the button to roll down her window. "Hey Mrs. Lopez."

"Charlie, Quinn, it's good that I've managed to catch you. How about you two stay for dinner," Maribel suggests.

"I'd love to, but I've got deliveries to run tonight. Someone didn't show up to work, and I need my business to keep growing. I'm working on our first contract—so everything needs to be perfect for the next few weeks."

"Okay, what's going on mom," Santana sighs, it's not that she wasn't used to her mother inviting the twins over for dinner, something about how they were to skinny. Charlie certainly wasn't she'd filled in over the years, and all those deliveries had toned up her body.

Maribel winced, she hadn't thought this through, it was usually easy to ply Charlie and Quinn with food and get them to stay over for a few more hours. "Well, we were talking about your business at the office, and I mentioned that since you were dating my daughter, perhaps I can leverage that to a discount if we sign up with you? You know late hours, lunches, that sort of thing?" Maribel watches as Charlie's eyes widen at this.

"Of course—"

"No, you don't start giving out friends and family discounts," Santana reminds her poking her. "They make money, they should part with it."

"Santana she's your mom!" Charlie says turning to her. "I've got to stay on her good side," Charlie mutters the last part. Especially since she'd been caught in her underwear about to extremely dirty things to their daughter the week before.

"I know she's my mom, just like I _know _she's lying about why she wants you to stay. By the way you are giving Charlie that contract, you just can't dangle that in front of her and take it away," Santana says crossing her arms.

Maribel raises a brow at her daughter, "I can see why Charlie's business is doing so well. Is there anyone that can cover you?"

Charlie hesitates for a moment, she wasn't even supposed to be _working_ today, it was supposed to be Dani. But Dani was mad at her, for whatever reason. Probably something to do with Santana, she really didn't want to deal with it and avoiding Dani seemed to be best for all. "I'll try again. Sam can't do everything alone."

It takes Santana a moment to realize who she's talking about and her face twists into one of annoyance. But if meant that Charlie could stay for a bit longer then she'd have to put up with Dani's presence. "Seriously mom, what's going on?"

"Maribel?" Quinn prompted when she looked away for a moment.

"An arrest warrant has been signed for your father's arrest. I simply don't wish for you to be _involved_ in any way. We have reason to believe that he's been behind the rash of robberies that's gripped the city for months. He recently deposited five thousand dollars in bills that had been _marked_ for destruction. An armored truck had been robbed recently."

Quinn looked at Charlie for a moment but her twin didn't look back, she hadn't truly been expecting her too. But she could tell that Charlie's hands were all over this. It would explain why her father had a bunch of _cash_ lately. But an _armored _truck? Charlie had never mentioned taking something that big, there was a lot that Charlie _hadn't _mentioned as of late, and they needed to have a _talk _about it.

Maribel watched as Charlie's body tensed for a moment, "It's going to be okay, the police will need to question you of course, and of course child protective services will probably try and step in but you're both seventeen and Charlie's got an extremely case for emancipation—"

Santana immediately moves to touch Charlie's back, "It'll be okay—"

Charlie shakes her head, "I need to work, I need to get to work," she says finally, she turns to Quinn.

Quinn bites her lip, "I'm going to stay here—if they need you for questioning—"

"Just call me," Charlie says looking at Santana. "I just—"

Santana nods, Charlie wanted to be left alone. Her feelings on the matter were probably complicated, and it was no secret that she _hated_ her father. "I'm here if you need me," Santana bit her lip when Charlie nods and gives her a quick kiss on the cheek. It would have to do for now as she exits the car. She'd call her in an hour to check to see how she was doing.

Charlie waits until she's alone and she's pulled out of the Lopez's driveway before it finally slips out. A giggle at first. Before her body begins to tremble as she breaks out into a full belly laugh. It had _finally _worked, and now all she needed to do was make sure he was gone for good.


	20. Part 01: Chapter 19

Maribel Lopez scowled, she'd dealt with criminal scum before but Russell Fabray was a _new _level of low, he'd spent the past two hours claiming that Charlie was to blame for all of this, she'd _seen_ Charlie's operation first hand. She was _impressed_, she was the one pulling herself up by her bootstraps, she'd seen a need for a service and had gone at it, working every day. It was _why_ she hadn't minded Santana dating her. Sure, she was still uncomfortable with the idea that they were having sex, but Santana wasn't doing _anything_ out of the ordinary for a teenager her age, and if being with Charlie helped her get through what had been done to her, then she would support the relationship.

She exhales as she steps out of the back room and head to where Quinn was waiting to be interviewed, she would need to recuse herself from the investigation, but it was worth it to make sure that the cops didn't try and drag the twins into it. What time did either of the twins have to be criminal masterminds? She nearly slams into another blonde woman, and is met with a harsh scowl. "Excuse me."

The woman inhales deeply as if she's close to losing her temper and her breathing exercises are the only thing that's keeping her from snapping and forces a smile onto her face. "Do you know where they're holding Quinn Fabray?"

There was a terseness to her voice that reminded her of Santana when she was annoyed about something, "Charlie hired a lawyer?" It would made sense, Santana had texted Charlie that she would need to come in, so that the police could question her. "Also no one is _holding_, her, she's here on her own volition to answer a few questions about her father." Maribel said as she looked up at the taller woman. The blonde hair, the hazel eyes, if she didn't know any better she'd think she was looking at yet another Fabray.

"Charlie's here too—of course she is, that doesn't surprise me. Probably has a record by now. My sister couldn't afford my rates, but Quinn actually _has _a future ahead of her, as for my _father_. I assure you he's too stupid to do what you're accusing him of. You probably have the wrong person, but he's a dirt bag so I honestly don't give a shit what you do with him."

Maribel blinks, the woman looked to be in her twenties, "They never mentioned that they had another sister, or one that worked at a law firm. Which firm do you work at?" She would definitely be having a chat with Quinn. From the tension she could understand why Charlie didn't like her.

"Frannie Fabray, I'm a first-year associate at Ryan, Howell and Rhodes," Frannie replied proudly. "And you are—?"

"Maribel Lopez, I'm an ADA. Your sister is dating my daughter."

"Well from what I understand, Quinn has a _fine _future ahead of her so long as this doesn't derail her."

"I'm aware, I was pleased to give her a few reference letters. But I was talking about your other sister. Charlie, she makes my daughter quite happy and her business is growing at such a rapid pace."

"What business?" Frannie asked.

"Perhaps she'll tell you about it when she arrives, it's what complicated this case against your father. Though he was found with a case from an armored truck delivery, his fingerprints were all over it, he had been gambling with it," Maribel explained as she motioned at the room where Quinn was in. "I'm going to go see if Charlie's checked in yet."

Frannie scowled as Maribel walked away and opened the door to the break room where Quinn was sipping on some water with her notebook in front of her. "Charlie's got a business?"

Quinn tilts her head slightly and looks at her older sister for a moment, "You've probably used the service, if you called, or showed up or _helped us_—"

"You were always free to come live with me Quinn, I'm not _your mother_, Charlie was a problem child. I couldn't have her derailing my career. She isn't going to amount to _anything_, she was just going to be an anchor—"

"She's paying my tuition for the university of my choice. Besides Dimensional Deliveries is a _success_, she's getting contracts to work with certain buildings, which means more money. So, this idea that Charlie's going to be an anchor because she's not a 'school' person, isn't accurate. She's taking an online accounting course, to better herself and she promised Santana that she wouldn't drop out. Look I called you because you're my sister and we need your help. Not your judgement—"

"_You! You did this_!"

Frannie tilts her head out of the door as she watches as her handcuffed father manages to pull away from the police officers hold and launches himself at Charlie who seems surprised, as she gets tackled to the ground. There's screaming and yelling as the police pull her off him, and Frannie _swore_ she saw a smirk cross Charlie's face for a brief moment. It was enough to unsettle her.

"I didn't rat you out from stealing from me, I thought if I gave you all my tips you'd leave me alone," Charlie insists looking at him as Maribel puts a protective arm over her and pulls her away.

"Come on Charlie, it's best if you don't say anything to him. Come along, your sister is here."

"Yeah Santana mentioned that Quinn was already here," Charlie said finally giving Maribel her full attention.

"I'm talking about your other sister. You never mentioned that there were three Fabray girls."

Charlie tenses and looks up spotting Frannie for the first time, "What are you doing here?"

"I came to _bail_ Quinn out, I'm surprised that you aren't in some juvenile detention center," Frannie said crossing her arms. "Since you're _here_, I guess I'm bailing you out as well. Come along I want to hear what's been going on."

Charlie turns to look at Quinn, "Why'd you call her?"

"Because she was going to be called anyway, we've got no parental supervision. And she's _family_."

"Barely," Charlie retorts angrily. "She didn't even come to Mom's funeral."

"You think that I want to watch over you? If what Quinn says is true and you have a successful business then you can seek emancipation. You are not living with me, Quinn on the other hand the offer still stands."

"I'm not going anywhere Charlie isn't," Quinn groaned, she hated being the middle child, but Charlie needed her far more than Frannie did. She turns to look at Maribel who was watching their interactions. "Family drama, but I think we need to tell her what's been going on. She's been out of the loop for the past few years."

Maribel nods and watches as Quinn practically shoves her two sisters into the break room and closes the door, she was going to need to have a discussion with Santana bout how much she _knew _as well. Russell had seemed so comfortable attacking Charlie like that it probably hadn't been the first attempt.

~O~

Santana pushed the button for the elevator and tapped her foot, her mother had said it would be best to stay away, but it was like she could _feel _Charlie was in distress. She wasn't worried, but her mother had mentioned an incident with Charlie's father attacking her in front of the entire department, and she _knew _she had to be there for the twins. The idea of Charlie being locked up gave her anxiety. She pauses when the elevator dinged and opened, a tall well-dressed woman steps off, looking at her for a brief moment before walking off. Santana watches for a moment, probably someone's well-paid defence lawyer. She shakes her head and enters the elevator and jams her finger into the button, and taps the door closed button, trying to get the damn thing to work faster.

"_Hold the door_!" A voice calls out.

Santana doesn't make an attempt to stop the doors from closing but there's a flash of blue and a woman practically falls through the doors, that close behind her. Santana bites her lip for a moment before simply deciding to apologize, "I'm sorry, I'm here to see my girlfriend—and I was in a rush." When the woman turns to look at her Santana feels her blood run cold, she hadn't been expecting to see _her _here, of all places.

"I guess we're both here for love then," Dani says with a laugh. "I was with someone and I could tell that it was going places, I mean we were then the next thing I know she's telling me she has a girlfriend. I just figured that her rich girlfriend wouldn't be caught dead in a place like this to you know support her. So maybe if I came down here and showed her how much I cared for her, showed her that I'd be there for her then she'd realize we were meant to be together." Dani grins. "We've been through so much together, I doubt she'd ever be able to understand or truly accept who she _really_ is."

Santana scoffs at this, causing Dani to look at her. Charlie didn't even consider Dani to be a _friend_, they'd been through something much more profound together, something much more binding. "I know exactly who Charlie is, and I love her."

It takes Dani a moment to realize who she's talking to and her eyes widen for a moment. "_Shit_."

Santana shakes her head at the statement, there was nothing more to say to her. Hopefully now she would finally respect Charlie's boundaries—

"I mean, the way Quinn talked about you I thought there would be something more, but I guess Charlie really is just into you cause your family comes from money."

Santana tilted her head to the side slightly for a moment before turning to Dani, raking her eyes over Dani critically for a moment. She was clearly dressed in a provocative way to get attention from Charlie, and she personally wouldn't even blame Charlie for looking. Dani was beautiful. But now she needed to channel her inner bitch and put Dani in her place. She flashes a small smile at Dani. "Curves everywhere—" Santana starts before flicking her eyes to Dani's chest in an obvious way, "But not in the right places." She focuses on Dani's hair next, "It's cute that you're attempting to be edgy when blue clearly isn't your color. I mean you're certainly pretty enough, and I can see why Charlie slept with you to begin with. But you're _trying _too hard and it shows. Charlie doesn't _need_ a trashy whore on her arm."

Dani chewed the inside of her cheek, trying to think of something to hit Santana with, "Well my dad can't afford the silicone—"

The doors slide open and Santana turns and walks out before Dani could finish her thought. The biggest statement of all would be to find her girlfriend and claim her in front of Dani fucking Harper. She just follows the feeling in her gut that guides her to Charlie who was sitting on a bench, probably waiting for her mother to show up and talk to her. When Charlie turns to look at her she smiles and moves to sit on her lap, tilting Charlie's head up and kissing her deeply, as she wraps her arms around Charlie's neck. It's deep and hungry and Charlie responds eagerly, it's enough for now as she pulls away, she wasn't going to give Dani the satisfaction of looking at her. "You okay?"

Charlie nods at this, pausing and spotting Dani from afar, she glances at Santana for a moment before looking at Dani once more. Well it certainly explained why Santana had kissed her like that in front of all these cops. "Yeah, your mom told me to wait here, so I'm waiting. What are you doing here?"

"I came to support you, I thought you could use it the moral support."

"And a sandwich?" Charlie prompts glancing at Santana's purse.

"And a sandwich," Santana laughs opening it up and placing her hand inside so she could summon a sandwich for Charlie, handing it to her.

Charlie grins, and kisses Santana's cheek as she takes the sandwich. "You're the best."


	21. Part 01: Chapter 20

Quinn entered Charlie's room and studied her twin who was currently sleeping in just a pair of black boy-shorts and rolled her eyes. She had waited for Charlie last night, but she must have fallen asleep and hadn't heard Charlie come in. She moves towards her twin to wake her up only for Charlie's head to snap up and turn to her a sleepy look on her face. She waits for a moment as Charlie blinks and rubs her eyes, waking up. It was very difficult to miss that Charlie always seemed to be stuck in fight or flight mode when she woke up. At least she wasn't reacting by using her abilities. Quinn moves to sit on Charlie's bed, "You've been MIA lately. Where have you been?"

"Work. Sam." Charlie responded as she stretched, groaning when there's a loud pop from her shoulders.

A wry smile crosses Quinn's face as she studies her twin, "You've been doing Sam? I thought I was the one he had this weird crush on?"

Charlie glares at her twin who laughs at her expense. "He's been helping me with my abilities, and we still have a company to run."

"_You_ have a company to run," Quinn corrects. Sam was a godsend and a hard worker but it was Charlie's company, she was worried that any one of the adults would attempt to try and take it from her. Charlie didn't even _need _to deliveries anymore, they had more than enough drivers, and Sam's father was trying to convince her to become like Uber. "You really should call Frannie and get her to be like your legal person. It would help her and she won't be able to stab you in the back. Like she has to give you the best advice that she can," Quinn pointed out.

"Frannie can go fuck herself with a rusty chainsaw. I don't trust her, and nothing you can say will make us a 'happy' family. If you want to spend time with Frannie behind my back that's on you. Just don't come crying to me when she abandons you, or pretends that she doesn't know you or whatever Frannie does." Charlie flops back on her pillows.

"I'm not—"

"Don't _lie _to me about it Quinn. I know you're doing, I know you're calling her more often too. I honestly don't give a shit. Just as long as you know there is nothing on this planet that will make me trust her or even like her." Charlie interrupts with a wave of her hand. "Now why are you here?"

There was a dark tone in Charlie's voice that causes Quinn to pause only for a moment. "When did you see Santana last?" She broaches after a moment.

Charlie narrowed her eyes at the comment, "This isn't because I'm not getting any sex. You're lying to me."

"I know, I'm sorry," Quinn said immediately. It seems to get Charlie to relax for a moment, "But seriously when was the last time you saw Santana?"

"She's been _busy_, I've been busy," Charlie insists.

"I know, I _know_, but maybe you should head over there today, it's the first day that university admissions start sending out their early-acceptance letters." Quinn said watching as Charlie blinked at this. The two of them _hadn't _discussed it at all. Santana was worried that Charlie wouldn't take it well. Columbia was in New York, it was probably a quick flight over from Chicago, but _still_."

"Oh, I should pick her up one of those Phil the Phoenix stuffed animals, and like a hoodie, right? She'd like that," Charlie said with a smile, as she looks around for her phone and spots it on her desk. She narrows her eyes at how far away it is for a moment before a small black hole appeared in front of her, she doesn't notice Quinn jumping back as she sticks her hand through it, watching as another hole appears just above her phone and her hand appears grabbing the device as she pulls her hand free from the singularity, and it closes a second later.

"Since when could you do _that_?" Quinn demands looking at Charlie's arm, and poking it to make sure that it still worked.

"Months?" Charlie replied. "Sam is _really_ good at helping me along, he finds this shit fascinating and geeks all over it. There's a lot that I can do that you don't know about." Charlie said as she begun to check her texts.

"Like?" Quinn presses.

"I can teleport, I haven't tried long distances yet, but I can walk into the void and things move differently inside there. Sam wants to go with me, to take a look but we're not sure if it's just a _me _thing, and it's not like we want to test on animals or anything like that." Charlie said before turning the phone over so Quinn so she can show her the stuffed phoenix that she would get for Santana. "Do you think she'll like it?"

Quinn bit her lip, "The University of Chicago is her backup, she promised she'd tell you." Charlie blinked twice and Quinn sighs. "She wants to go to Columbia. It's in New York. She's also applied to Yale, Harvard and Stanford—and like a bunch of others. She doesn't want to stay in this state. She was going to tell you—I mean she should have had this conversation weeks ago."

Charlie tilts her head slightly, "She's going to break up with me?"

"No. No, she just—you really need to have this conversation with her. But she doesn't want to hurt your feelings—"

"It doesn't hurt my feelings that she wants to go to really good schools, she's really smart, I'd be happy for her. I'm upset because she didn't tell me, and now I feel like an idiot." Charlie says frowning slightly, as she gets up. "Why would I be upset?"

"Because she'll be moving away from you, because you're not going to university?" Quinn points out. "You're not thinking of getting rid of your business—"

"I have _money_ Quinn, I can fly back and forth spend a few weeks with her and fly back," Charlie points out. "It won't be long till we start expanding outside of Chicago anyway, Sam's dad thinks we can expand across the Midwest in about a year or so. I can also teleport, I'll figure it out. As for the university, I'm taking an accounting course at the community college in my spare time. I was going to tell her about it as a surprise. I'm not smart like you and Santana are. Besides I'm seventeen and my bank account is massive."

Quinn nods, that was more or less true. "You need to reassure her then," Charlie nods. "Anyway, the reason that I decided to bother you this early in the morning. Is I may have finally found something, on the people who took you. A name actually, he was roommates with Dustin Goolsby."

Charlie turned immediately. They'd waited long enough, hidden themselves now it was time for her to finally strike. She finally had the resources she needed to begin moving. "Go on."

"Henri St. Pierre. He has a place in town, I thought you should know," Quinn said as she pushed her phone towards Charlie so she could take a look. Recognition crosses Charlie's face. "He was there."

Charlie hands back the phone and nods at Quinn, "I'll look into it. Just send me the information."

Quinn frowns slightly, "Please don't do anything stupid with the information." When Charlie doesn't say anything she sighs, she'd done everything she could to stop her. She didn't really want to know what Charlie had planned.

"So what school does Santana really want to go to?"

"Columbia. It's a _really_ good school Charlie. And the mascot is a lion," Quinn sighs with a shrug.

Charlie nod and yawns once more before studying Quinn, she had helped with her relationship with Santana and she needed to do something to thank her. She didn't feel guilty that she was spending most of her time with Santana, but Quinn was the only person she trusted in the world. "When does the Yale one come out? We'll do something together."

Quinn blinked for a moment, "Without Santana?"

"Yeah, and with Santana but something just the two of us first," Charlie promises.

Quinn grinned, "Next week—"

"I'll make time for it I promise."

~O~

Santana rolled her eyes, as she looked at her father fidgeting with the camera on his phone. "We are _not_ recording my reaction. I don't want anybody to see my face if I don't get in," She insists as she gets up when the doorbell rings.

"It's what everyone is doing, you're not taking this from us," Maribel calls out from where she's sipping on her morning coffee. "It's a big deal."

"I know that, but what if I don't get in?" Santana retorts as she opens the door and freezes when she sees Charlie and Quinn standing there. With Charlie holding a large stuffed lion. Santana flicks her eyes to Quinn who shrugs. "Charlie—what are you doing here? With a stuffed lion?"

"Are you going to break up with me?" Charlie asks crinkling her nose.

"What? No. Why would I—oh," Santana says looking at the stuffed lion. Quinn had obviously told her that she planned to go to Columbia. "No. _No_. I just—I was worried about you being upset. You know that I wanted to go so far away."

"Why would I be upset? You have shitty New York Pizza to deal with. If anything, it just means that when I come visit you, I'll have to bring some proper pizza with me." Charlie points out. Being upset at Santana for keeping secrets would be stupid. There was _plenty_ she didn't tell Santana, how she had made so much money so quickly. The fact that she still occasionally went out of her way to rob a few stores and stuff now that her business was taking off.

Santana snorts at this, Charlie was _perfect_. The perfect girlfriend, she couldn't even sense any hidden meaning in her words, she probably was more distressed with the fact that she would be eating crappy New York Pizza. "You'll visit?"

"I don't understand that's a question," Charlie admits. "Of course, I will. I mean it's a really good school and I have my business here. I won't have term papers or exams or anything of the sort, and according to Quinn I shouldn't even be making deliveries anymore."

"It's true," Quinn pipes up. "She really should just be doing paperwork and wining and dining people to increase her contracts."

"See so it wasn't that big of a deal, I'll miss you though. But we'll make it work. I mean we make it work, now don't we?" Charlie smiles, "If you had let me know I could have gotten you the proper mascot, but I just found out this morning."

Santana cuddles the stuffed lion and looks at Charlie before leaning into kiss her. So, she wasn't going to be super pissed at Quinn then, Charlie was taking this super well all things considered. "I'm glad you're here Charlie, you two Quinn, my parents are being _weird_."

Charlie wraps her arms around Santana's waist pulling her closer so she can kiss her again. "Love you."

Santana smiles against Charlie's lips and kisses her again, before pulling away and grabbing her by the hand so she could lead her to the kitchen where her laptop was set up. "Charlie and Quinn are here, now you can't be weird!"

Charlie waves at Maribel and Miguel, "No you can keep being weird Dr. and Mrs. Lopez," Quinn speaks up.

"Ah the twins! Santana said you wouldn't make it!" Miguel said before holding out his phone for Quinn. "You can help me set up this damned thing, so I can take one of those reaction videos to show to all my coworkers, when she gets in."

"No problem," Quinn grinned.

Santana grumbled before turning to her girlfriend, "You'll always take my side, right?"

"Of—"

"Charlie, would you mind helping me in the kitchen, I didn't know you two were coming but I was making Santana's favorite."

Charlie blinked and looked at Santana and then back to Santana's mother and her stomach growled loudly. "I—uh—"

Santana gently pushes Charlie away, "Fine, _go_." She huffs when Charlie kisses her on the cheek again and races to help her mother in the kitchen. She glances down at the stuffed lion Charlie had gotten her and smiles, she really was the perfect girlfriend, sure she was still rough around the edges, but they were good together. Charlie loved her more than anything in the world. She was loved. She refreshes the page again and swallows when she sees the link she'd been waiting for. "It's here," she mumbles looking up.

"Code Red!" Miguel says as Quinn hands him back his phone and Charlie sprints back into the room.

"Seriously guys this isn't that big of a deal!" Santana says as she clicks the link when her mom enters the room. She feels Charlie wrapping her arms around her shoulders to take a look, as she scans the first couple of lines, "I got in."

"You got in?" Charlie repeats, a smile breaking out on her face.

Santana laughs and turns grabbing Charlie and pulling her face towards her, so she can kiss her deeply. When Charlie's slightly dazed she gently pushes her away and looks at Quinn and immediately goes to hug her tightly, "I wouldn't have gotten in without all your tutoring."

Quinn patted her on the back gently, grinning. She hadn't applied to Columbia but she was expecting something back from NYU, there was still a chance that they could room together if getting into Yale failed.


	22. Part 01: Chapter 21

"What are we going to do about Quinn? I mean she really had her heart set on Yale, I mean to get rejected must suck," Santana said as she took a sip of her water, her parents had been jealous that Charlie was taking her to such a hot restaurant. The menu didn't even have prices beside it, and she knew Charlie could afford it. That still didn't mean she wasn't going to offer to pay for her half.

Charlie shrugs, "NYU is still a really good school, I mean and you two can room together right?"

Santana grimaces, "I mean that's one thing my parents aren't looking forward to paying for, I'm going to need to get a job—"

"Or I could rent a place for you two to share. I mean eventually I want to expand into the New York Market and LA, at least the idea is to take my business country-wide. And Sam's father told me that if Quinn was planning to work for the company after she graduates, I can write it off as a business expense. I mean I checked, if I get you guys a place in Midtown—"

"Charlie! You don't need to worry about where I'm staying—"

"I mean I was going to get Quinn a place anyway, and if you're both in the same building, I don't have to split my time between the two of you." Charlie continues flashing Santana a smile. "It's about my convenience, when I come visit. Something to think about, I mean I've started looking at apartments for when I turn eighteen."

"Really?"

"Well yeah, I wanted to move to the nicer area, and get a bigger bed. You know an _adult_ bed." Charlie smiles when Santana rolls her eyes.

"Fine but if we're doing this, then I get a say in what mattress you choose." She shakes her head, "But seriously we need to do something to cheer up Quinn. I mean it was her first choice, so _focus_, don't think about me naked."

"I wasn't—now I am," Charlie pulls her hand away before Santana can swat it. She places her hand on Santana's for a moment, "Maybe I should take her to New York so she can see how amazing it is. I mean—it's got nearly everything but good pizza, and decent sports teams."

Santana snorts, "That sounds like a good idea, and you can check out apartments, and you should take her to a lesbian club or something. She'll be super happy if she gets laid," Santana points out. "I mean who knows who she'll take home."

"I'm not pimping out my sister—"

"I'm not suggesting you pimp out Quinn, you probably wouldn't get that much money—_ow_!" Santana grins and rubs where Charlie had pinched her hand. "I'm just saying, she needs to get laid. It'll make her more confident, she'll be more eager to go to NYU. It's a suggestion, she'll have some sort of deep connection. Just take her to a place where the chances of her getting laid are higher."

"Fine, _fine_," Charlie said with a shake of her head. "Anywhere in particular—"

"Holy shit it's you. You survived!"

Both girls turn to look at the man who had approached them and Santana can feel her stomach twist into a knot as she stares at one of her tormentors, she recognized that face and voice, he'd always looked like he was slightly out of it. He was wearing a uniform, suggesting that he worked in this place. What was he doing _here_? "I—_you_—" she manages to get out. They were going to come after her again, she was going to be in that cell once more, where they tortured her and did things to her. They'd use her body and then discard it like trash. She couldn't—

Charlie was up on her feet immediately nearly knocking over her table grabbing the nearest utensil. "I'm going to—"

"I'm sorry, I just came over here to say that I'm sorry. For what we did to you—" The man babbles, suddenly coughing as smoke begins to fill the restaurant and people start coughing and getting up to leave.

Charlie grips his shirt tightly, and turns to look at Santana who looked absolutely terrified. Her hands were in her lap and it seemed that the smoke was coming from her. "_Santana_." Charlie speaks up causing Santana to look at her. "I'm not going to let them take you again," Charlie promises. "I _swear_, they won't take you again."

Santana nods and grabs their stuff as they evacuate the building, following the throng of people who were coughing and looking around like they were scared. Charlie had her hand on him, she wasn't going to let him go and rat to the company that had done this to them. She needed to believe her when she said that she was safe. She had powers, it wouldn't be so _easy _for them to take her.

"Get in," Charlie hisses shoving the man against her car hard, she watches him for a moment before turning to look at Santana, reaching for her hand. "Santana, we need him bound can you—" red furry cuffs appear in Santana's hand and Charlie raises a brow and looks at Santana

"I've made these a _hundred_ times," Santana flushes. "Why are you complaining? You _like them_."

Charlie shook her head, and takes them grabbing the man and cuffing him with the furry handcuffs, she leans in, "You're going to tell us where you live, we're going to go there and you're going to tell us _everything_." She informs him as she hands Santana her keys, "You're going to need to drive, I'm going to make sure he realizes that it's a very good idea to talk to us and tell us everything." Charlie insists.

Santana hesitated, "Maybe we should take him back to my mother—she'll know what to do, he'll talk—"

"And risk putting your mom in danger?" Charlie questions. "I like your mother, Santana. I do, but we're not going to get _justice_ if they start coming after our family. We need to handle this ourselves."

Santana hesitated for a moment, there was a stormy look on Charlie's face. She wasn't quite sure she wanted to know what Charlie's version of _justice_ was. But she did know that they needed answers, she _wanted_ answers and they would need to be prepared for whoever this guy worked for—coming after them.

~O~

Charlie ran a hand through her hair as she bent down to look at the man—_Henri_ or some ridiculously French name. She didn't give a shit, but she was quickly getting agitated, she had wanted to take care of this without Santana worrying about it, and with Quinn out of the city and safe. She had been slow to move and now this had happened. They were in his shitty little two-bedroom apartment, she had noticed the past due notices on her way in. "Look, _Henri_, I'm going to ask you some questions, you're _going _to answer them. If I think you're lying, bad things will happen to you. The shit you did to us—" Charlie inhales deeply. "For two months I thought of killing every last one of you, each way more violent, more painful than the last. I want to see if my imagination is even remotely based in reality. Nod if you understand." Henri nods and Charlie is about to ask her questions when she feels Santana's arm on her shoulder pulling her up.

Santana looks at Charlie and glances down at Henri for a moment, before leaning in to whisper into Charlie's ear. "Please tell me you're joking?"

Charlie flicks her eyes off Henri for a moment and looks at her girlfriend before squatting back down, she would get to the bottom of this. "Who did you work for? Who gave the _order_, I need names, who else is _alive_, and what was the whole point of this. Monkeys, rats, rabbits, why the fuck did you have to tear us from our families and _use _us as guinea pigs."

"I can't—"

Charlie raises her hand and slaps him hard across the face, "Wrong answer. That's me being nice, now give me a name or this gets worse."

Santana winces, she's tempted to pull Charlie back but Henri swallows, "I don't _know _much. I don't know if this was a government project—I don't know if this was a corporation—I just know that we were paid to kidnap a hundred teenagers, we were to run you through a battery of tests and the ones that survived would get to step through the singularity. I don't know—it appeared, someone somewhere thought they could weaponize it—or something."

Charlie glanced at Santana for a moment before making a quick circle gesture with her finger and a black hole appeared just above the man's foot. "I don't believe you. So, let me tell you what's going to happen, I'm going to dip your toe into the void, you know where you colleagues sent us, just your toes. You know what happens when I close it with your toes still inside of it? It's actually rather interesting, a nice clean _cut_." Charlie waved her hand slightly before demonstrating her powers by slicing off the tips of his shoes causing him to yell in fear. She backhands him again, "Quiet now, or I'll start by giving you a haircut. Now tell me what I want to know."

"I don't know! I don't know! Look what we did to you—it was fucked up. I didn't last, I started to get high, failed the drug test, but I knew what we were doing was wrong. I knew it. I should have said something, should have come forward but they said that they'd kill me. Kill my family just make them disappear—"

"Who?" Charlie interrupts. "Who threatened your family?"

"Sue. Her name was Sue—Sylvester, she was our contact."

Santana moves to grab Charlie. There were a million questions that she needed to ask her. What the hell had she done to his shoe. It was just like the damn portal that they were shoved through. When had Charlie learned to do that. Every time she'd asked to see her abilities, Charlie had brushed her off suggesting that it was too dangerous to use indoors. But nothing had happened and she'd just used it indoors. "We've got a name, now let's go."

Charlie nods after a long hard moment of staring at Henri and looks at Santana. "What do you want to do with him."

"We let him go—we tell my mother—"

"You want him to tell this Sue person that we're coming for her?" Charlie scoffed. She shrugs off Santana's touch and turns back to look at him. He was pathetic, snivelling there, his face slightly blotchy.

"Charlie, you made your point he won't say anything right—"

Henri nods quickly. "I swear to you. I promise."

Charlie eyed the man, she didn't believe him. He was a coward, a weak-willed coward. All Sue would have to do is apply pressure. He wasn't a _good _person. A good person would have alerted the damn authorities if he had felt guilty. A good person wouldn't have kidnapped a bunch of teenagers for some sick experiments. Charlie tilts her head slightly as she stares at him and opens her palms as another portal opens up above his head. She slowly brings her hand down, so his head slowly disappears, she can vaguely feel Santana grabbing her arm trying to get her to stop, and Henri's legs kicking as he struggles.

"_Charlie _stop it! Please _stop it_!"

Charlie looks over at Santana for a moment and a slow smile crosses her features. "_Okay_." She says her voice filled with an odd cheer as she causes the portal to disappear. As did Henri's head, as blood began to gush upward splattering the walls as his legs and body twitched spasming before slowly slumping to the ground.

"_Holy Fuck!"_


	23. Part 01: Chapter 22

Santana stumbled back tripping over her own two feet as she stared at the headless body and the pools of blood that was slowly spreading around the man's head. She shivered and looked at Charlie who had a frown on her face. Okay maybe she hadn't meant to do that maybe—it was an accident.

Charlie knelt beside the body for a moment, and eyed it carefully. "That was messier than I thought it was going to be," she admits. They couldn't just _leave _a body here either, they had probably left fingerprints and everything, or some sort of DNA behind. She stands up, ignoring Santana for a moment and creates another opening into her void, this time allowing it to suck the body inside, she lets it go for a moment, as the blood on the ceiling and blood on the floor gets sucked inside of the portal. She glances at the blood on the walls. There wasn't much she could do about it. At least without damaging the wall, she'd need to talk to Sam about it, there had to be a way to give things a _deep _clean. She turns her head slightly checking the area once more before turning to Santana. "Okay, we should probably get out of here." Charlie extends her hand to Santana to help her up, only to frown when Santana slaps it away and shuffles away from her. "Santana—"

"You _killed him_!" Santana says staring at Charlie, her eyes wide as the panic began to set in.

Charlie blinked twice, she hadn't seen Santana this upset since they were being experimented on. "I did. I didn't have a choice, he wasn't a good person. He was a coward, if Sue put any pressure on him he'd crack and then she'd know that we were coming for her, and _who knows_ what she would have done. You have people you love that you want to protect, I have Quinn. I have _you_, so I made the decision, and I'd make the same decision."

"You _killed him_. You can't—" Santana pauses and looks at where the body had been and then back at Charlie for a moment, she had made it disappear. For _months_ her mother had been talking about all these robberies where entire walls were gone, where the thief had just walked right in and taken the money. Quinn was a _scholarship_ kid, she had worn thrift-store clothes, her uniform had been donated—and then in a few months Charlie had money to start up her delivery service? All that money that Charlie was earning— "You're a criminal."

"You knew that already," Charlie pointed out.

"You told me that you weren't picking pockets anymore I thought you had stopped," Santana insists.

"I didn't lie, I _stopped_. The people that I take money from are _bad _people. I'm not robbing innocent hard-working Americans—" Charlie said slowly watching Santana carefully.

"That's not for you to decide. Who the hell made you judge, jury and _executioner? _All that money you made? You made it because you're nothing more than a _thief_, you're not some business savvy person, you're just a criminal who apparently has _super powers_." Santana insists, finally standing to her feet. "Your father is innocent—"

"He deserves it. He _deserves _being someone's prison bitch, he gets to know what it feels like to be afraid now. You may not like what I've done, but I did it, and right now there's nothing you can do about it." Charlie said briskly, moving to take Santana by the hand. She had already cleaned everything up, now she just needed to get Santana to safety. Santana could be upset with her in the car.

Santana pulls her hand away from Charlie and takes a step back, "I'm not going anywhere with you."

"Santana—" Charlie says moving to stop her, Santana just needed to calm down, and then she'd see that she'd done this for a good reason. That they needed to protect themselves from those that would seek to drag them back down. She wasn't going to be another experiment.

Santana shoved Charlie away, she wasn't the person she thought she was. What else had Charlie been lying about? "Don't. We're done. I just realized I don't know who the _fuck _you are. And I don't think I want to know who you are. You're nothing more than a killer and a thief," Santana snaps angrily. "You didn't do this for me. If you actually cared what I wanted, then you wouldn't have killed him. You wouldn't be trying to justify it to me."

"You don't mean that," Charlie says.

"Of course, I fucking do. You're a psychopathic monster, and if you can do that to him—and _smile _about it, who knows what you could do to me." Santana insists, she could feel her blood rising, but when Charlie doesn't move to try and stop her she heads for the door. She'd find her own way home.

"I wouldn't ever hurt you Santana, I love you."

"_Bullshit_, I don't think you know what _love is_. If you loved me you never would have done this, you wouldn't have dragged me down to your level," Santana insists before opening the door and taking her leave, she'd call a damn Uber but there was no way that she was going home with Charlie fucking Fabray.

~O~

'_She isn't a psychopath Santana, she's at best a high functioning sociopath. She has her own moral code, she works within it, and quite frankly she adores you. So—_'

"She _murdered _someone in front of me," Santana hisses struggling to keep her voice down as she slumps against the wall in her room. Her parents were busy at work and she didn't know how to explain it to them, she didn't know how she was going to tell them that she and Charlie broke up. She could give them some lame excuse that Charlie wasn't who they thought she was, or that they had a fight and then she broke up with Charlie, but she didn't want them prying. "Quinn your sister is _dangerous_."

'_I've known that for years. It's been bubbling under the surface for years, she lost her mother, daddy-dearest used her as a punching bag because he thought she was stupid and wouldn't amount to anything. He didn't touch me because he probably thought I was going to be his meal ticket once I graduated. Throw in what happened to you guys while you were captured and whatever was left probably snapped. Honestly, I thought she was getting better, she was better with you. She was happy with you.' _Quinn says looking up when the door slams shut. Charlie storms past her heading to her room without a word and she sighs.

Santana shakes her head, she wasn't supposed to be the one that made Charlie better. She wasn't sure there was making Charlie any better. "Did you know about the thefts?"

'_Yes. Despite how the company started Santana, Charlie's hasn't needed to go out and do that anymore. You think a bank was going to give her the money she needed to jumpstart her business? You think anyone was going to invest in her? She barely passing her classes. No one was offering her a chance off the bottom step. So, she made something of herself with her own hands_. _Look I need to check on Charlie now, to make sure she's okay—'_

"You didn't see the look on her face Quinn, she looked pleased with herself. She looked _happy_ and someone who looks happy doing something like that? She lopped his head off, there was blood and gushing and oh god I'm going to be sick—" Santana said feeling her stomach flip at the memory.

'_If Charlie was going to hurt you, if Charlie was going to do something to you she would have left you alone in that other dimension. The fact that she didn't means that she cared for you before she even got her powers. She cared enough to rescue you. She's never going to hurt you Santana, just like I know that Charlie will never hurt me. Anyone who hurts me on the other hand is another story. If you don't feel safe with my twin, then that's fine. You can break up with her, I'll help Charlie come to terms with it.' _There's a loud crash and Quinn sighs. '_I really need to check on her. Santana, I'll swing by later tonight alright?'_

Santana sighs and nods, she didn't want to be alone right now, because all she could feel at this moment was the _pull _towards Charlie. She wasn't supposed to be the one that made Charlie changed, and Quinn putting that on her wasn't fair.

~O~

Quinn bit her lip before opening the door to Charlie's room, it looked like a hurricane had hit the room, and Charlie was sitting in the epicenter of the mess, her legs crossed and a confused look on her face. "I heard—"

"I thought she loved me," Charlie interrupted, there was an angry hurt tone to her voice.

Quinn raised a brow, "You _murdered someone _in front of her. I thought you loved her?" Quinn responds watching as Charlie looks up at her. "You scared her, and I'm sure you have your reasons but you _murdered him_, in front of Santana. She's not built like you. She's not _like _that. What did you think was going to happen?"

"I—" Charlie looks away.

Quinn sighed and moves towards her twin wrapping her arms around her shoulders and pulling her into a hug. "I love you. And maybe once Santana stops panicking and freaking out things will be better?"

"Yeah?"

Quinn nods and rubs Charlie's back. "I think so, just give her time," She'd talk Santana down from this and then they could go back to being their irritatingly sweet selves.


	24. Part 01: Chapter 23

Dani bit her lip and adjusted her shirt, it was more modest than what she generally wore when she wanted to seduce Charlie, but she needed to play this carefully. Charlie had been easily irritable all week, snapping at anyone who talked to her, even Sam who she seemed closer to than anyone had been on the receiving end of her foul mood. It hadn't taken much to get Sam to inform her that Charlie and Santana had broken up, which meant that it was her _time_ to be there for Charlie while she was in need. She inhales slowly and knocks on the door, hoping that Quinn wasn't around. She knew that the older twin would probably kick her out before she could see Charlie.

The door swings open after a moment and Charlie stares at Dani for a moment before attempting to close the door. She frowns when Dani stops her and holds the door open. "I don't want to see _you_."

"I know," Dani said holding up her free hand in a sign of peace, "I'm here as your friend, just your friend. I heard from Sam that you and Santana broke up. Don't be mad at him, you were kind of ripping into everyone for the past few days. I mean it's not a good look for someone who's the boss." When Charlie doesn't say anything, Dani decides to push a bit. "Can I come in, we can do anything talk about it, just shoot the shit—look I _promise_ I'm not here to get into your pants. I even put on this ugly-ass shirt so you didn't think I was trying to make a move."

Charlie frowned for a moment, "You haven't been a good friend," she says as she finally lets Dani inside.

"You're the one that started to avoid me," Dani points out as she follows Charlie into the small living room. She glances around, she _knew _that Charlie had the money to move out of this shithole, if she was raking in what Charlie was raking in, then she wouldn't be living in a shitty cheap apartment, that was in a sketchy neighborhood.

"You didn't respect my relationship with Santana," Charlie pointed out, "Santana would get upset, and it's not like you were just a friend. Friends don't send each other nudes," Charlie clarifies. Santana had only made a few cutting comments and she hadn't wanted the headache.

Dani hesitates for a moment, "Yeah, I was jealous. She was everything that I wasn't, she came from a good family—"

"I don't want to talk about it," Charlie interrupts taking a seat and reaching for her phone. Santana hadn't texted back, she hadn't called, and she didn't know how many more ways she could apologize. Quinn had suggested that she stop bombarding Santana with messages but it was hard. This whole thing was _hard_.

Dani nods and sits down on the opposite end of the battered old couch and looks at Charlie, "What happened—I mean you seemed super happy whenever you talked to her. I mean you've nearly been together for two years—did you forget an anniversary?"

Charlie frowned, she still wasn't exactly sure why Santana had broken up with her, it's not like she hadn't mentioned her burning _hatred_ for the people who had hurt them. Who had killed all those teenagers, she had promised _justice_ and she was dead set on getting it. She wasn't going to have Santana's parents put in the crossfire.

"Charlie?" Dani prompts watching as Charlie blinks for a moment and then looks at her.

"I killed someone in front of her."

Dani turns to look at Charlie, she had said it in that flat tone of hers, but Charlie wasn't a murderer, she wasn't even much of a criminal. She can't help but laugh, it was such an absurd notion. "I forgot how fucking funny you were."

Charlie studies Dani for a moment, "I told her about the strip club robbery, and how I used it to finance my company," Charlie says before looking at her phone again. "Words were said—she's not going to tell her mom or anything, but she doesn't want anything to do with me."

"That's because she doesn't want to hear the truth of it, the cold hard truth that people like her are born with a silver spoon in their mouths, and people like us we need to do everything and anything we can do to survive. I mean so you did a bad thing, I mean you were honest with her and given the fact that her mom's an _attorney_, like dumping you because of that—" Dani shakes her head. "I can't imagine."

Charlie doesn't say anything and just fiddles with her phone, maybe if she apologized again. Santana would just forgive her, and they'd talk about it.

Dani struggles to keep the hurt look on her face as she moves to gently pry the phone from Charlie's hand, "Watching your phone isn't going to make your phone ring. I know you love her, and I know you're hurting but thinking about something else will make the time go faster. So, let's do something else instead, you still have those old board games."

Charlie frowns and shrugs, watching as Dani got up and walked to the closet in the hallway, she was certain that no one in her apartment had opened it in years. It felt odd watching Dani roaming around her apartment. They hadn't had guests over in _years_, even Santana hadn't ever stepped foot in their apartment. She'd never wanted to or _cared_ it seemed to at least ask.

"Battleship or Monopoly?" Dani called out. When Charlie doesn't answer she grabs Monopoly and moves the items on the coffee table and begins to set it up. "Remember how your mom used to make you let me be the race car?"

Charlie flicked her eyes towards the board. "I was always the shoe, cause by then everyone would have taken what they wanted," Charlie says slowly.

"I'll let you be the race car this time, I think I'm more of a top-hat don't you think? I mean I think I'd look sexy with one on, don't you?"

Charlie snorted at that, and reached for the shoe, running her fingers along the metal game piece for a moment. She didn't want to be the race car anymore, and she puts her piece at the go sign, and looks at the bank. "Who's going to be the banker?"

"No one, this is a different type of monopoly, where I see how good your hands still are. All because you're going to join the top 1% doesn't mean that you need to let your skill die. If you get caught then you lose a house, or a property or some cash," Dani said putting the box between them. "I mean it's about the _only_ way I'm going to win against you."

"If you can spot what I'm doing," Charlie points out. "But we both know that you probably won't be able to."

Dani laughed, "Game on."

~O~

Santana frowned slightly and glanced at her phone, it had been a week since Charlie had attempted to contact her. There were no phone calls, no texts at odd hours, no desperation on Charlie's end anymore and she didn't want to admit that she missed her _ex-_girlfriend. It was infuriating. Charlie had _murdered _someone. She had killed them without any regard, and it was troubling, it should be the end of their relationship. But she _missed her_. The times Charlie would just _hold her_, or how often they talked about everything and anything. There was so much that Charlie hadn't told her—_that Quinn_ hadn't mentioned and she felt lost in the dark. She looks over at Quinn, she had been surprised that Quinn had stuck around and that they were still friends, _Charlie's _doing probably. But she didn't mind Quinn hadn't seemed to take any sides between them.

"Stop staring," Quinn said from where she was tapping her fingers on the table as she stared at her computer screen. "If you want to ask me something then ask me."

"What else are you keeping from me?"

"That's a broad question," Quinn points out raising a brow, as she turns to look at Santana. "I'm not keeping anything from you, you don't ask questions and truthfully Santana, your relationship with my twin is none of my business. Even though you're a terrible friend and Charlie is an equally terrible sister when you two are together, I do actually want the two of you happy."

"I am not a _terrible friend_—" Santana begins indignantly.

"Three weeks before you broke up, you two were supposed to be watching a movie with me and you two ended up leaving to go have sex somewhere." Quinn interrupts, she wasn't going to let Santana rewrite history.

"Pick a better movie next time," Santana says with an irritated huff. Who wanted to watch some weird French film with subtitles? It was _pretentious_. "But I mean you didn't think it was important to let me know about Charlie's after-school activities?"

"Do you know why I spend my time at your house? And totally eat whenever your parents put food in front of me? Because our fridge was empty, we couldn't afford basic groceries, Charlie used a lot of her money to buy food so we could eat. Dad spent most of his money on booze, so did I care where she got the initial investment? No. Was I going to share that with you, without an okay from Charlie? Your mom's an ADA, of course not."

Santana frowned, she hadn't known that. "Okay, so maybe I don't care about her stealing, I mean it's wrong but it's not like she does it anymore right?"

"Not that I'm aware of, the business is self-sufficient. Sam's father is starting to line up investors from what I'm hearing, which means I need to find something nice for Charlie to wear so they feel okay with investing in her." Quinn mused.

"But the killing?"

"She's never done that before, but given who she killed Santana I personally don't feel sorry for him in the slightest. It's been one-hundred teenagers that you _know of_. Maybe there are other experiments going on, you two got _lucky_, others may not have been."

"We have a justice system."

"Even your mom points out how unjust the system can be sometimes, rich people who do stupid shit getting a slap on the wrist, while people like me they throw the book at us."

"You're white, and you have a wholesome look, no one is throwing the book at you Quinn," Santana retorts.

"I mean _poor _people, people like me as in _poor _people, I'm aware I'm still far better off than some people just because I'm white. I mean it's how Charlie got away with selling weed for _years_," Quinn said with a shake of her head.

"Wait—_what?"_ Santana frowned, she hadn't known Charlie was a drug dealer either.

"There was no food, who is going to hire an eleven-year-old? It's not like my older sister—"

"Older sister?" Santana blinked, that was also new information.

"Yes. I mean Charlie hates her, my sister hates Charlie, it's shitty being the middle child sometimes," Quinn sighed. "It's no big deal, she's so much older than us we never felt a connection. She's a lawyer at some big firm here in the city. Charlie likes to pretend she doesn't exist."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Look maybe there is more that you need to know about Charlie, instead of having sex all the time you two should talk. If you don't want her to go after the people that hurt you then _tell her_. Charlie would do anything for you Santana, and if this makes you happy she'd stop."

"You want me to be with her," Santana points out accusingly.

"Yes. I do. I thought you were aware of this Santana, Charlie is better with you. She just is, it's not a you thing I just think she wants to be someone who deserves you so she makes _good_ choices most of the time," Quinn says with a shrug. "But on the other hand, if my girlfriend did what Charlie did I'd move states. Good thing you're going to Columbia in the fall."

Santana scowled slightly but sighed, "You're right, I think we should at least have a conversation."

"Probably," Quinn agrees before going back to her math homework. "Leave me out of any decision that you make."


	25. Part 01: Chapter 24

"So, I'm guessing the theme is _red_?" Quinn says flatly looking at the third red dress Santana had tried on. She wasn't going to grudgingly admit that Santana knew what she was doing and that she looked _hot _in that dress.

"My theme is red, you'd look awful in it," Santana retorts. "You need to pick out a dress to, it's _weird _how you're just watching me. If I didn't know any better I'd think you had a _crush _on me," Santana teases.

"_Dream _on Lopez, you know I only tolerate you," Quinn says crossing her arms over her chest. "Why are we doing this anyway? Paying nearly a hundred dollars just for a crappy meal and thousands of dollars on a dress that we're only going to wear once. I mean what's the point?"

"Is this because you don't have a date to prom Quinn?" Santana asks poking her head out of the changing room to look at her. "You should be _honored_ that we're going—"

"I already _have a date_," Quinn interrupts watching Santana carefully, it had been weeks and months of Charlie moping about waiting by the phone for Santana to forgive her. She had _wanted_ to go as Santana's date, as much as she had complained about it, she had wanted to dance with Santana.

Santana blinked and poked her head back out of the dressing room. "I thought we were going together! Who the hell are you going with? Holy shit! What's her name?"

Quinn rolled her eyes, "No need to get super excited, I'm just going with Sam, he asked and he was being really sweet about it, so I said yes."

"Sam? Charlie's Sam?"

"Charlie doesn't _own _Sam. But yeah, he's been a huge help and I am ignoring the fact that my sister totally used me to get him to help out, but he's been a godsend and he's basically Charlie's partner in all of this. His dad is helping run most of the company. We're going as friends."

"He knows you're like _super fucking gay,_ right?" Santana presses.

"Yes Santana, I told him that."

"That you're super fucking gay?" Santana asks a huge grin on her face.

"No! I told him I was into women after he asked me out on a date. He wants to go to prom badly though and he didn't want to go alone so I said I'd go with him to ours. Might get Kitty off my back for once."

"He has a trouty-mouth, fat chance." Santana says frowning. "Well who the _fuck_ am I supposed to take to prom? I can't go by myself."

"There are plenty of people who want to take you to prom Santana, you're Santana Lopez," Quinn said with false enthusiasm.

Santana narrowed her eyes for a moment, "Whatever, I don't need you to help me look hot."

"I know."

"I can totally walk in their steal all the girls from their dates," Santana says boastfully.

"Uh-huh," Quinn said with a roll of her eyes. "You were looking forward to dancing with Charlie at prom, so just _do that_. Charlie will probably still take you if you don't want to be lonely."

Santana scowled at this, everything had been quiet on Charlie's end for months, she didn't text anymore, there were no more calls or voicemails. She didn't want to admit to Quinn how much she missed her twin, she didn't want to tell anyone. And it wasn't as if her parents didn't _ask, _or they weren't worried about it, but she needed to remain strong. "Your sister is a psychopath."

"Sociopath," Quinn corrects with a simple shrug of her shoulders. "You've been miserable since you broke up with her. She just sort of waits by her phone, hoping that you call or text or _something_. And the amusing thing is she does what you do. That thing where you both think you're clever and you're trying to get information out of me. You're not _clever_. Charlie's not going to make the first move on this Santana, _you_ broke up with her and she's trying her best to give you your space even though she really wants to be your girlfriend again." Quinn stands up. "I'm going go to go look for some overpriced piece of fabric that I'm only going to wear once."

Santana doesn't say anything and instead ducks back into her dressing room and bites her lip. So maybe Quinn wasn't completely unobservant and had noticed. She still couldn't get that image out of her head, but she _missed_ Charlie. She missed their talks, she missed the sex, she missed how Charlie would always reach for her hand no matter what and just stare at her like she was her entire world. "_Shit_," Santana muttered as she began to shimmy out of her dress. She didn't even know where to begin, what she would say to Charlie.

What she did know was that she had _fantasized_ about Charlie in a damn tuxedo for weeks now, looking up the latest styles, Charlie wouldn't have minded her help picking out an tux, she wouldn't have minded her insisting that she get a haircut. She would have smiled and asked for her help making sure that she looked good, knowing that those clothes would probably be on the floor the night that she wore then. She reaches for her phone, typing out the text message quickly before scowling at it. She _really_ did need to talk to her, face to face. She would lay down some ground rules and then Charlie would take her to prom. Santana exhales slowly.

Besides she was _certain_ absolutely _certain _that Charlie's opinions on what she wore to prom mattered far more than Quinn's.

~O~

"I should be offended you know."

Hazel eyes flick to look at Dani carefully, studying her. "Because I sunk your battleship?" Charlie asks.

Dani shakes her head, "Because I've been here _daily_ hanging out and just having fun with you and you still check your phone every five minutes, and you're still _miserable_. Like it's like I'm a ghost. Instead of your best friend who is trying to make you feel better." To say she was frustrated would be an understatement of epic proportions. It was infuriating, she'd been there for Charlie when no one else had, and still Charlie hadn't _seen _her.

Charlie blinks slowly, and studies Dani for a moment, she did look sufficiently offended but she can't help but glance at her phone again, willing it to ring. "I miss her."

Dani frowns slightly but forces a smile onto her face when Charlie turns to look at her, "I know. But it's been a few months Charlie. You can't be sad _forever,_ can you?" Dani sighs. "I just hate seeing you so upset, and so strung up over some girl is all. I know how you feel about her, anyone with _eyes_ can see how you feel about her but you know we're like best friends Charlie and seeing you like this _suck_."

Charlie doesn't say anything for a moment before moving to flip her phone over and turn her attention to Dani, "Thank you," she says slowly after a moment. "For being my friend."

Dani shrugs, noting how Charlie was studying looking for any cracks but she had meant what she said, eventually Charlie would simply realize that she was _better_ for her than Santana was. "What are you going to do for prom?"

"Prom?"

"We should go, to our prom. You know, you, me and Matt and go make fun of people," Dani suggests after a moment. "It will be fun.'

Charlie shrugs, it didn't sound like it would be fun. "No thanks, prom is stupid," she says after a pause.

Dani smiles, "Is this because you can't dance?"

Charlie shrugs her shoulders, "I just don't want to go. I mean it's a busy time, and I'll just do deliveries and stuff. You go and have fun."

"I'm not going to have fun if one of my friends is stuck working—" Dani begins but stops when Charlie frowns. "Life moves on Charlie. I know it sucks but isn't she going to some big fancy school anyway out of state? I mean _think _about it for a moment."

Charlie sighs and pushes the gameboard away from her. "I don't want to play anymore," she announces.

Dani sighed but nods, she'd pushed to hard. It happened, and she knew it was time to leave her alone to _think _about what she had said, she watches as Charlie reaches for her phone again and stares at it. "Alright, I'll see myself out." She doesn't get up right away but waits for Charlie to stop her, and she's met with a quick nod. She sighs. She shakes it off, she'd simply try again tomorrow and the day after until Charlie finally realized that Santana was gone for good. She grabs her bag and heads out, closing the door to their apartment behind her. "_Shit_," she mumbles and heads towards the elevator. What would it take for Charlie to _see _her?

The doors slide open and Dani is about to take a step inside when she freezes when she sees Santana _fucking _Lopez standing at the elevator.

Santana scowled and raised a brow, "What are you doing here?" She demands crossing her arms.

The last person she expected to see was Santana Lopez, this wasn't a good neighborhood by any stretch of the imagination, and she looked out of place in the building with her designer clothes. Dani slowly smirks, "Wearing Charlie out. Why do you think she hasn't called you since you broke up?" It was _petty _and a lie, but she knew if she didn't keep them separated now, she'd never get another chance.

Santana keeps her face neutral even as her heart shatters into a million pieces, as it suddenly made sense. No wonder Charlie hadn't called her or wasn't trying to win her back, or even talk to her. And the smug grin on Dani's face let her know that it was possible this had been going on behind her back. She didn't want to believe it, but Dani _looked_ slightly disheveled. "If you want my sloppy seconds, have at it," Santana says with a shrug. "Is Quinn home?"

Dani shook her head, "Probably has her nose buried in a book somewhere. You aren't here to beg for Charlie to come back to you, are you?"

Santana bristled at the implication, but kept the smile on her face as she reached forward and pushed the lobby button, "Honestly, even if I wanted her back, she's been rolling around with a bitch. I don't want fleas, or god knows whatever else you have. Herpes are forever, and I don't need that in my life." Santana responds as the doors begin to close.

Dani hesitates for a moment, Charlie would never forgive her if she found out and she wasn't sure if she could handle it. "Look Santana—"

Santana ignores her, it's not until they're firmly that she finally expresses how she truly feels, as her shoulders slump and her eyes blur a bit. A few months ago, she would have said that Dani was _lying_, Charlie wouldn't go back to her, but she didn't _know _Charlie as well as she would have liked to believe. If Charlie had loved her, like she claimed why would she run back to Dani of all people. It had only been a few months.

As far as she was concerned Charlie was a big fat liar.

~O~

Dani exhaled slightly and waited for a few moments before pushing the button to head down, so she could get home. She turns her head slightly when she hears a door unlocking and watches as Charlie practically stumbles out of her apartment. "You okay?" she asks frowning slightly. Charlie had definitely taken some time to brush her hair and looked slightly better.

Charlie blinks and looks at Dani for a moment, a disappointed look crossing her face. "I thought—Santana was—" her shoulders slump again when she realizes it's _just _Dani.

Dani shakes her head, "It's just me."

"Did you see her?" Charlie asked, she'd always been aware if Santana was nearby. It didn't make sense that Santana would be here of all places, but it _felt _like she was close by. It's why she'd washed her face and combed her hair as quickly as she could so Santana wouldn't be worried about her.

"No, and if I had I would have marched her to your apartment and told her to fix it," Dani said crossing her arms over her chest watching Charlie. "You're kind of a _dick_."

Charlie rubs her arms; the feeling was fading. Maybe she _did _need to get out more. "I'm sorry—I just—"

"Yeah, I know you miss her." Dani sighed and moved towards Charlie gently taking her by the arm and leading her back inside the apartment. "I know you do, I'm sorry I'm not taking your feelings into account and stuff," Dani says gently closing the door behind them.


	26. Part 02: Chapter 25

**AN: Hello. Thank you for the reviews. If I do double up on a chapter let me know uploading a bunch of chapters at the same time is hard. Enjoy part 2**

* * *

The smell of a _proper _home-cooked meal from her mami was enough to make her mouth water and get off the couch where she'd been flipping aimlessly through the channels. Nothing but stupid Christmas commercials and she really didn't want to watch Elf by herself either. She grins when she spots a few dishes on the counter and reaches for one of the containers.

"_Mija_. That isn't for you."

Santana stops and looks at her mother who hadn't turned around and scowls as she moves to sit at the island and watch her mother cook. "I've been back for two days now, and all I had was _leftovers_. What do you mean this isn't for me? I'm your _favorite child_."

"You're my only child," Maribel corrects and turns to look at her daughter.

Santana scowls and reaches for one of the containers only for her mother to reach over and smack her hand _hard_. "Ow! Well who the hell is it for then? I thought you had papi on a diet or something!"

"The twins of course, Santana you're living rent free in Union Square in a lovely apartment with Quinn, I looked up those prices online, it's far more expensive than Quinn told you it was. The least I can do is make them a home cooked meal." The security had been top notch which made her feel better about the fact that Santana was in New York, the place had been relatively spacious and Santana even had her own bathroom. Freshman year had been a real wakeup call for her daughter, but she was glad that Santana was in a safe location and living with a friend that she _knew_ and could call up and simply talk to.

Santana blinked slowly, as she stared at her mother. "Quinn's gone vegan to impress some _girl_."

Maribel paused and looked up at Santana. "Vegan—" she'd used animal products in all the food that she'd made. "When did that happen?"

Santana shrugs, "A couple of weeks ago, she's totally into this super vegan with tattoos and a lip ring and everything. It's a _disaster_. I thought she'd learn after like three failed attempts to just be yourself, but apparently Quinn's in _love_ or some shit. Or what passes as love," Santana shook her head. It was _disturbing_ and annoyingly loud. At least now that meant she could finally make herself a plate of food.

"Well then Charlie will eat it," Maribel says with a shrug. She still wasn't _sure _what had happened to the other Fabray twin, or why they had broken up. Santana had refused to talk about it and she hadn't wanted to push. It seemed as if her daughter had finally moved on, she'd dated a few girls but it hadn't lasted all that long.

"You still talk to Charlie?" Santana asks in an accusatory tone. It was an act of betrayal as far as she was concerned.

"She's paying for that lovely apartment you're staying in, I called to say _thank you," _Maribel corrects, raising her brow at Santana's annoyed attitude. Charlie had been polite and courteous. "When was the last time you talked to her?"

"The day we broke up," Santana says crossing her arms over her chest. As far as she was concerned Charlie was still as psychopathic as always. And sure, she may have stalked Dani on her social media accounts just to make sure, and sure enough it certainly looked and sounded like they were together.

"Santana."

"_Mami,_ she knows I'm grateful. I told Quinn to say thank you for me. We don't talk. Don't feed her food, she's like a cat, she'll probably start coming around or something."

"Quinn's your best friend, Charlie's her sister. You don't think she'd like to come up and visit Quinn? I'm not saying _date _her, I'm saying be polite, and come to an understanding. Quinn must hate being in the middle of this. You could have been stuck in the dorms until you graduated Santana, and I _know _how much you hated it there."

"Charlie can do whatever it is she wants, I'm not stopping her from visiting Quinn. I'm not but we don't talk. And you're _not _feeding her."

"Of course not, you're going to take the food over," Maribel said crossing her arms over her chest as Santana's jaw dropped. "It's Christmas—and don't think I didn't hear you telling Quinn you wouldn't be going to the party at their place. You've been sitting here miserable, so go spend time with your best friend and be sociable. You don't get to be a grouch."

Santana grunted her mother would make it this thing if she refused, she could drop the food off and then make her way out, she'd just need to make sure she let Quinn know that she didn't want to _deal _with Charlie and Dani making out in front of her.

~O~

The door swung open after the first knock and a large smile crosses Quinn's face as she spots Santana standing there with a bag that seemed to contain plenty of _food_. She ignored the sour look on Santana's face as the music pulses through the hallway. "Thank _god _you're here and you brought food," Quinn says reaching for the bag which Santana pulls away from her.

"I thought you said that Charlie wasn't here," she hisses. It sounded like there was a party going on and she wasn't dressed or in the mood to deal with the drama that involved bumping into an ex. There's a loud crash from inside and she watches as Quinn winces.

"Please Charlie abandoned me the moment the music was turned on, so _come in_, and save me. There's barely anything to eat here and we're not doing Christmas dinner this year," Quinn explains reaching for the bag once more. This time Santana lets her take the bag, "Come in, take a look around the apartment, you've never been here before, I'll give you the tour."

"I don't need the tour Quinn, also that's not _vegan_, so you know you can continue to starve until you finally stop torturing yourself, and stop being a grumpy ass bitch," Santana informs her, even though she lets Quinn pull her into the decent sized apartment. There's plenty of people already there, playing video games and dancing and talking to one another and she crinkles her nose, spotting Sam talking to some girl. It seemed to be an office party or something but she wasn't quite sure that Charlie even _had an _office.

"Seriously there's nothing in here that I can eat?"

"Your girlfriends back in New York Quinn, and I'm _certainly_ not going to be having a conversation with that wannabe hipster," Santana sniffs. "My mami slaved away and it would be rude not to eat it."

"I have—"

"You're being a hipster, you do _not _have dietary restrictions you started this like three weeks ago." Santana says with a roll of her eyes. "There are some vegetarian options but no one has time for your vegan hipster bullshit."

Quinn stared at Santana for a moment before smiling, she was so used to Santana calling her out on her shit, and Charlie had done the same when she'd heard about it. Well, her twin had made herself a plate of bacon and sat down in front of her and eaten every slice. "Fine, whatever just don't tell her."

Santana rolled her eyes but nodded. "You've got a nice apartment Quinn, but seriously and I'm sure that it looks even better without the huge mob of people but I'm going to head back home—"

"Wait, since you're here I've got your Christmas present. Do you have _any_ idea how hard it is to shop for you since you can make _anything_?" Quinn asked. "It's in my room. I had to hide it cause Charlie shakes everything that has a bow on it, just wait here."

Santana groaned but did as she was told, she hadn't picked up anything for Quinn and she felt slightly guilty. But there were a few days before Christmas and she could always make something. Something Quinn _needed_ apart from a new girlfriend. Maybe she'd just promise not to call her a hipster for a week or two. Either way she'd make Quinn haul ass to come and get her gift. She waves at Sam who finally spots her and grins at her and relaxes for a moment until _the last person_ she wanted to see notices her, and immediately hops off the couch. She immediately straightens herself out, she didn't want a confrontation but she needed to be able to put Dani down in a way that didn't give Charlie or Dani the satisfaction of knowing how much it still hurt.

Dani stops in front of her for a moment, studying her rival for a moment before pushing a fake smile onto her face and extending her hand. "Merry Christmas."

Santana glanced down at the hand before taking it with a shrug of her shoulders, "Merry Christmas," she repeats before letting go. She takes a step back and looks at Sam who was making a beeline towards them and turns just as Quinn returns with an envelope with a bow on it. "Really Quinn a gift card?"

Quinn rolled her eyes, "Don't open it till Christmas," she lectures.

"Right, stop by sometime tomorrow and pick up your present and say hello to my parents. They might think that I've killed you and hid your body somewhere." Santana smiles at her moving to give her a quick hug as she pulls away from Dani effectively. "Anyway, I told my parents I'd be back soon, so I'll see you later."

Quinn frowns slightly looking over at Dani her eyes narrowing for a moment, "I'll walk you out."

"What am I your weird girlfriend? I know my way-out Quinn, I'll be fine. I'll talk to you tomorrow alright?" Santana said with a roll of her eyes, as she headed towards the door and quickly entered the elevator when the doors slid open. That could have been _far _worse. But she had handled herself well, they wouldn't be laughing at her behind her back. The doors to the elevator slide open and she steps out fixing her coat. At least it wasn't snowing, but that didn't mean that it wasn't freakishly cold.

But instead of a gust of wind chilling her to her core, she feels a sudden warmth. She pauses for a moment and looks around the bustling street for a moment, before quickly heading towards her car. It had been over two years since she'd _felt it _and this what she had been trying to avoid. A run in with Charlie, who seemed to be close by. She glances over her shoulder once more to see if she could spot Charlie only to slam into someone. She watches in horror as their lighter flies out of their hand and onto the ground.

"_Shit_, god damnit! Why don't you watch where you're going!"

Santana freezes at the voice, sure it sounded slightly raspier but it was _definitely_ Charlie. She was currently bundled up in a thick coat and a simple hat that had slipped forward on her forehead. She watches stunned as Charlie picks up her lighter and tries to get it to light so she can light up the cigarette in her hands. There was already a cigarette in her mouth that was pretty close to the butt and it seemed that Charlie was simply switching it out. "Since when do you smoke?" The words come out before she can think about what she's doing. Charlie looks up, dropping the lighter once again.

Her jaw goes slack for a moment, allowing the cigarette to fall to the ground and she moves to hide the unlit cigarette behind her back, a guilty look on her face as she stares at Santana. "Santana?" It comes out a few octaves higher than she had intended and almost immediately she begins to cough and sputter.


	27. Part 02: Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

Charlie gasps for air and slams her hand against her puffy jacket trying to get some much-needed air in her lungs, she was aware of how stupid she looked, especially in front of Santana. This wasn't how she had envisioned this meeting going. After her breathing returns to normal and her throat no longer feels like a cat had used her throat as a scratching post, she looks up at Santana who had an unimpressed look on her face. She smiles despite the look, "_Hi_."

Santana tilts her head slightly, there were several different ways that this could go. Charlie had filled out a bit and her arms certainly looked as strong as they'd always been but she didn't look _well_. There was something there that bothered her, but it wasn't her _problem_. "I'm just here to drop off some food my mom wanted to thank you for everything you've done. I'm not here to stay. It was nice seeing you Charlie but I'm going home."

"Oh. Okay," Charlie says taking a step back and allowing Santana to pass her. This was definitely not how she imagined this conversation would go. "Merry Christmas, Santana." Charlie says forcing a fake smile to her lips.

Santana pauses for a moment and looks back at Charlie for a moment, it was like kicking a puppy. A psychotic puppy. She needed to remind herself that Charlie was dangerous and Charlie was a liar. Charlie hadn't loved her like she had said. "Merry Christmas Charlie. I hope you're truly happy, and that the New Year brings you more success," Santana says meaning every word of it. They had been through something _together_, and while things weren't how she had envisioned them, she did actually want Charlie to be happy and healthy. She quickly makes her way to her car so she can drive back home.

"How?"

Santana stops from where she's opened her door and looks at Charlie, "Excuse me?"

"How can I be happy? You don't even talk to me anymore, I know I'm different. Everyone says it, but I thought you didn't care, I thought you _loved me_." Charlie adjusts her hat trying to keep her voice smooth. "Even if you don't want to be with me—I know you're dating other people—but I thought we could be friends," Charlie says turning to look at her.

Santana studies Charlie for a moment, resisting the urge to approach her. Quinn had mentioned something about how they seemed to be connected to each other in a way that wasn't exactly normal and now she _finally_ understood it. "We broke up, the space was needed—I should thank you for letting me stay in the apartment and not just showing up randomly. Though I suspect that's only because you think New York has shitty pizza."

"Santana, it's just a fact that New York has shitty pizza."

There was just an insistence in Charlie's voice that causes her to laugh. "It's not the worst thing in the world."

"_Santana_."

Santana grins at Charlie's horror and the sound of betrayal in her voice, she had missed this. Missed her. "You have a party that you're avoiding," Santana nods towards Charlie's building.

"Still? I thought if I disappeared then people would leave. But it's cold, and I'm hungry and Quinn's going on about how she's a vegan. It's about as natural as a New York pizza."

Santana covers her mouth trying not to laugh, but she failed. Charlie was still looking at her, "Okay. You can remind me why Chicago pizza is better than New York pizza."

Charlie blinked, "Right now?"

Santana shrugged, it was just a slice of pizza. Charlie had a girlfriend after all. "Or you can go back to your—"

Charlie opened the door to Santana's car and slipped in before she could change her mind. "To Pequod's." Charlie insists immediately.

Santana shook her head before sliding into the car, feeling that pull again. This was a _shitty _idea, but she could go for some deep-dish pizza. She immediately swats Charlie's hand when she goes for the radio. "We've talked about this, person who drives gets to choose the music."

"I wasn't I was just going to put it into the map, in case you've forgotten how to get around," Charlie says rubbing her hand.

"I've been gone for like a year and a half, I haven't forgotten anything." Santana insists scowling at Charlie who flashed her a smile, the one that generally made her want to kiss her. This had been a _terrible _idea. But she'd make sure Charlie acknowledged that she had a girlfriend at dinner, just for a mental conformation.

~O~

"This is nice."

It used to be the fact that the silence between them was comfortable. They hadn't needed to say words to express how they felt, Charlie had just known when she simply needed to be held. That _wasn't the_ case now. It felt _uncomfortable_, and it didn't do anything to assuage her fears that she was being a homewrecker. "Mom mentioned that they interviewed you on the local news."

Charlie flicked her eyes at Santana for a moment and she shrugged, "Sam's father set it up, said it would be good for the business. We have more investors now and we're moving into other states in the New Year. The apps got a sleek new look and it's easier to use. It's all a bit _much_," Charlie admits after a moment.

"You're in charge of a multimillion dollar company, most people would _kill _to be in your shoes," Santana said frowning slightly. "But then again, maybe you'd care if you had earned it."

"You may not agree with _how_ I got the money to start the company up but I _earned it_. I took risks and I earned it," Charlie says. "You never used to have a problem with it before."

Santana scowled at this, "Because we'd been kidnapped," she hisses at Charlie. "We needed to get out of there or they would have killed us. The circumstances were different then Charlie, if you can't see that—"

"The situation for you was different, but my dad was still going to use me as his punching bag. Quinn wasn't going to be able to succeed because she couldn't afford it. I made a decision Santana. I'd do it again in a heartbeat as well."

Santana bit her lip at this for a moment, "Are you still doing it?"

Charlie shakes her head. "The company is self-sufficient right now."

"And if it wasn't?" Santana prompts. When Charlie doesn't answer she frowns. "You don't have to be a criminal anymore Charlie. I mean that stuff might impress Dani but you don't have to do it anymore," Santana said reaching her hand out to take Charlie's hand. When she removes it there's a large golden coin in Charlie's palm.

Charlie blinked and stared at the large metal coin in surprise. "This isn't—"

"It's pure gold, I finally figured out what my powers were with a bit of help from Quinn. Well more or less, but basically, I can create anything. If you need _money_, if you need an infusion of cash or assets or whatever. You just need to come to me and I'll do it. You're going to get yourself arrested, and once they find out what you can do—they'll do some creepy experiments on you."

Charlie tilts her head slightly, a look of shock on her face. "You sound like you're worried about me. Quinn said that I frightened you—"

"You did. What you did in front of me was beyond _fucked up_. I still get nightmares about that shit, and I think to myself if you could do that to him, what could you possibly do to me? If you got angry enough, if I hurt you—how would you react?" Santana presses.

"You think I would hurt you?" Charlie asked hurt in her voice. "I would never—"

"You did. You _hurt me_, you showed me something and that scared me to my core," Santana interrupts. "That hurt me, knowing that the person I love isn't who I thought she was? Yeah you may not have been violent towards me, but that's how it starts isn't it? You're dangerous Charlie, and I didn't see it before because I didn't want to." Santana says calmly. "Your paranoia, your lies, the shit that went down with your father, these are all red flags Charlie."

"I'm not like my father," Charlie insists.

"I never said that you were, I'm just stating—"

"You are. You think that I would hurt the people I love and care about when I get angry? What are you going to do to hurt me that they didn't already do to me? That my father hasn't done to me a million times?" Charlie asked. "I love you."

Santana shook her head, "No. You don't. You think you do, I mean but what you're feeling, what I'm feeling—that's just one of the side-effects of what they did to us. Maybe a bit of it is mental, but it's also physical and Charlie _we're _not normal. What we've got it is intense and it's confusing—" she trails off at Charlie's look. It was that wounded look that she simply wanted to kiss better.

"Are you saying you didn't love me?"

"No. Because that would be a lie. I'm saying what we have is intense and partially artificial. It also doesn't matter. You have Dani. That's who you're _supposed_ to be with."

Charlie crinkled her nose, "You think me and Dani—are—"

"Dating, fucking, whatever it is you're up to—" Santana interrupts she wasn't going to let Charlie spin this.

"We're not together," Charlie says firmly.

Santana frowns at this. "She likes you."

"Dani's _always _liked me, you knew that when we first started dating. But my feelings about Dani haven't changed."

"So, you're _not _sleeping with her?" Santana presses, her heart sinks when Charlie looks away for a moment. "Charlie think about what you're saying for a moment, you love me but you're with Dani. I get it you're sleeping with her and it means very little to you but to her it's something. You should give her a chance. It's been years."

"Years? What are you talking about? I just started sleeping with Dani in September, after Quinn told me you were seeing someone."

Santana froze, "I know you were with her soon after we broke up Charlie, I _saw _her leaving your apartment, when we were still teenagers," she grips her fork tightly, this was what she had been afraid of. Charlie could lie with ease and even though she wanted to believe her, she'd seen Dani leaving her apartment. "You stopped calling, you stopped texting after the first week. Then I see her leaving your apartment, I know she's the reason you stopped trying to get back together."

Charlie made a face, "I stopped calling and texting cause Quinn said that I was acting deranged, and I didn't want to cross the territory into creepy stalker territory. You can ask her about it, so I Just waited for you to text back. I sent you like four hundred messages that first week, and like five hundred the next week, and I knew if I started again I wouldn't stop. Your mother's a district attorney, I didn't want you to put a restraining order on me. Dani started showing up a few weeks later to try and cheer me up we played board games. I kicked her out every time she started to get weird with me, she said she just wanted to be my friend. I didn't trust her but she didn't really do anything but attempt to beat me at board games." Charlie tilts her head slightly for a moment before she frowns. "You came to my apartment."

"Yes, to make you take me to prom," Santana says leaning back watching Charlie. "You weren't sleeping with Dani but she said—" Santana frowns. Charlie had no reason to lie to her, she believed her when she said that she didn't actually like Dani. Sex between them had always been about ease of access, and Dani had always been open for business and throwing herself at Charlie. Dani had a vested interest in seeing their relationship fail so that she could get Charlie all for herself.

"She lied to me. She lied to you," Charlie said her voice growing cold.

Santana flicks her eyes to Charlie for a moment, and she was certain that Charlie would make Dani disappear if given the chance. There was rage and hurt in those eyes. Charlie could lie with the best of them but she wore certain emotions on her sleeve. "It doesn't matter now."

"It does, she _lied _to me. She manipulated me and took advantage of me—"

"Yeah. We both got played. But I need you to stop. Dani didn't break us up. She didn't have that power. I didn't trust you, so when she said it to me. It made sense, it had been weeks, you hadn't said a word to me in all that time. You can't promise me that you won't do it again."

"I can. If that's what it takes. You're more important to me then going after the people who did this to us. I won't do it again." Charlie promises, her voice pleading. It wasn't as if she went around murdering people for the fun of it. "We had fun together, we were _good _together. I Just want to be happy with you."

Santana bit her lip, that face again. "I'm going to need some time to think it over. I mean I just got a lot of information and I need some space to process it. But you and Quinn can come around. If only to prove to my dad that Quinn hasn't secretly murdered you." Charlie nods and Santana can still see the tenseness on Charlie's face and reaches over to gently touch Charlie's hand, deciding to change the subject. Nodding towards the hot pizza in front of them. "This is a pie Charlie, this isn't a pizza. It's a pie."

Charlie looks down at the half-eaten deep-dish pizza that they had shared and stared at Santana like she'd grown another head. "That's what makes it _amazing_."

"When you come to New York, I'll show you what real pizza is like."

"Heathen," Charlie snips at her. "This is Chicago Santana. Next, you'll tell me you like the Yankees or the Knicks. You can't say these things here, you'll cause a fight."

Santana rolled her eyes, Charlie was being dramatic. "Please the Yankees aren't that bad."

"Do you talk to your parents with that mouth?" Charlie insists and gets swatted on the hand by Santana.


	28. Part 02: Chapter 27

Quinn tilted her head as she watched her twin step on the garbage can and toss her three packs of cigarettes inside of it before letting it close. The party was finally winding down and Charlie had appeared a few minutes ago, she _looked _better than she had in months, which meant that she had _finally_ run into Santana. She slides up next to her twin, "So, you're quitting? Does this have something to do with my roommate?" She searches Charlie's face.

"You told me that I needed to give her space," Charlie said quietly, keeping her voice even as she turned to her twin.

"Which was the right advice. You murdered someone in front of her, you were close to crossing the line between stalking and trying to win her back." When Charlie doesn't answer her immediately she frowns, "I want you with Santana, you _know _this." Charlie's look was positively chilling but her twin would never _hurt _her. She gently moves to grip Charlie's arm tightly and look at her. "I didn't cause Santana to break up with you, if anything I tried to prepare her for the inevitability of you revealing exactly who you are to her."

"I'm not _broken_," Charlie hisses her voice raising slightly causing a few of the stragglers to turn to her. She shrugs off Quinn's grip. She quickly removes her winter jacket and removes her hat. She glances at Quinn, "Maybe you should take Frannie up on visiting her for Christmas."

Quinn raised a brow at the statement, she could tell it wasn't a suggestion. Charlie was kicking her out. "Okay. I'll leave in the morning." Six hours would give Charlie plenty of time to calm down. "I never told her you were broken," Quinn adds after a moment.

"No, you just told her to be on her guard with me. You made her think that something was wrong with me that I was different—"

"You _are _different," Quinn interrupts. "And that's _fine. _But before you met her, before you fell in love with her, I knew how you treated women. I saw how you treated Dani, I just told her to guard her heart."

"I would never _hurt her_!" Charlie snaps loudly, shoving Quinn away from her and ignoring the stares that the people are giving her.

Quinn studied her twin for a moment before turning around and smiling at the few stragglers that were watching to see a fight break out between them. She's certain she sees Dani dart towards Charlie's room and rolls her eyes, she'd deal with that later. "I think it's time this party came to an end, we _thank you_ for joining us for the party." She flashes her most Frannie-like grin at the small crowd of people. She tries to grab Charlie to make her stay but her twin twists out of the way. Well there went any chance of making her twin seem _professional_.

Charlie nodded at Sam as she passed him, he was about the only person she could trust at this moment. She heads to her room frowning at the light that was on, her face twisting as she pushed the door open. She wasn't surprised to see Dani sitting on her bed a seductive smile on her face, and a bow on her shoulder.

"Come on, come unwrap your gift."

Charlie stares at Dani for a moment, her anger bubbling to the surface. It was because of her that she had been forced to go _years_ without Santana. It was because of her that Santana had seen other people, had _slept_ with other people. "You _lied_ to me," she says finally. Resisting the urge to make Dani simply disappear as she slowly made her way to the bed.

Dani hesitated for a moment, "I know we said no gifts—but I mean _come on_. It's nothing we haven't done before," she scrambles back when Charlie gets on the bed.

Charlie closed the distance quickly and her left hand shot forward landing on Dani's neck, tightly, she squeezes, feeling the urge to keep squeezing until there was no breath left in her body. "You lied to her, you lied to me," Charlie repeats.

Dani winces at the sudden tightness, they'd played like this before when Charlie was in one of her moods which seemed to be all the time lately, she still had the bruises on her hips and arms from a few days ago. "What are you talking about? Charlie you're _hurting _me." She frowns when Charlie doesn't immediately stop, she normally did, and Charlie squeezes tighter.

"_Santana_." Charlie inhaled deeply, digging her fingers into Dani's neck. "You let her believe that we were _fucking _when we weren't. You _lied to me_. You didn't let me _fix it, _you ruined my relationship with her. You ruined my chance with her. We could have been happy, I would have been happy," Charlie insists, ignoring Dani who grabs at her arm weakly. The light was slowly leaving Dani's eyes, and she can't help but squeeze harder even as she feels arms wrap around her neck and upper chest and yank her backwards, causing her to let go in shock.

Quinn ignores the dark glare as she pins her twin to the bed, as Dani coughs and sputters. She exhales calmly as Charlie tries to pull herself free but she keeps a very good grip on her twin. "As much as you want to pretend that this is _my _fault or even Dani's, Santana's concerns about your behavior are _valid_. They're valid, and you are _different_. That doesn't mean that I don't love you, it doesn't mean that you aren't deserving of love. But if you do this, if you _hurt her_—then why should Santana ever trust you?"

"Because I would—"

"Would you believe our father if he promised it? If he promised that he'd never hurt anyone else?" Quinn interrupted. "You're not him, you're _better_ than him, but you _must_ get it together and ask yourself if your actions will make Santana trust you. Will make her _love _you again? You need to be _better_, for her and for yourself okay?"

Charlie met Quinn's look and her face cracks with grief as she curls into Quinn, who immediately begins to rub her back. "I'm not a monster."

"I know you aren't but if you do monstrous things people will think you are," Quinn said, glancing at Dani, she would need to handle this situation. Kissing Charlie on the forehead gently she pulls away and looks at Dani and reaches for her helping her up. "Come on." She says pulling Dani out with her. "Look, I haven't said anything about your relationship with my twin. You've known I haven't approved, but whatever. So, I'm only going to say this once. Charlie will _never _love you. Not like she adores and worships Santana." Quinn glances back at Dani as she grabs her jacket and hands it to her.

"I didn't—I didn't force her to do anything. I just want her to look at me like she does Santana." Dani sputters rubbing her neck her voice breaking. "What does she have that I don't?"

"Charlie's adoration. Charlie's love, and right now Charlie thinks you stole that from her. You stole her happiness Dani. And I don't think she _hates you_ right now, but she's angry with you. My only advice to you is to keep out of her way for now and don't let her feelings slide from indifference to pure hatred. I'm sorry about what happened to you, but I suggest you keep it quiet."

Dani nods, she didn't want Charlie to be pissed at her. "Okay—okay. Can you tell her I'm sorry?"

Quinn smiles, "Of course. Charlie lost her head for a bit, I think it was shock or something. I'll _talk _to her. It won't happen again. We'll see you back at work after the break," Quinn said forcing a smile onto her face as she manages to get Dani out of the apartment. It was a situation that she would need Sam and Sam's father to look out for. Dani was going to be a problem and the last thing that Charlie needed was someone to focus all that rage and misery that had been building up for the past two years. With a sigh she walks back to Charlie's room and crawls back onto the bed with her, holding her twin sister tightly.


	29. Part 02: Chapter 28

It's the smell of food that pulls Santana out of her sleep, and the animated chatter coming from the kitchen that gets her to roll out of bed. She yawns and slips on a shirt as she makes her way downstairs.

"Thanks for having us over, Mrs. Lopez, we're grateful for the food that you had Santana bring over last night," Quinn's voice filtered through from the dining room, causing Santana to freeze on the stairs.

She quickly speeds downstairs sliding across the hardwood as she spots the twins sitting there in her dining room, a pile of Christmas presents were stacked neatly by the doorway. She would probably be forced to put them under the tree. She studies Charlie who was looking at her, as she chewed on the bacon that her mother had put in front of her. It certainly explained the erotic dream she'd been having of Charlie. The pull of their bond was strong and she swallows before forcing herself to look at her mother who was sipping on her coffee, looking excited that the twins were _back_. "I _told you_ that they were like cats! I said if you feed them they'd never leave."

"_Mija_," Maribel scolds. "That's no way to talk to guests, now hurry up and grab a plate. Charlie if you need food, you know you can always stop by. I don't mind."

"I _do_." Santana muttered, ignoring the look that her mother looks at her. She flicks her attention to Charlie again, who sinks a bit in her chair.

"I'll go," Charlie said putting her fork down.

Santana rolled her eyes, it was still like kicking a damn puppy and Charlie being _their _felt good. It just felt right, like the missing piece was back. "Stay. You know how I am without my morning coffee," she said after a moment. She frowns when Charlie pushes herself out of the chair. "I mean it you can stay."

"I was just going to get your coffee, you still like the hazelnut one, right? And it's still in the same place, right?" Charlie said rubbing her wrist.

"I—"

"Yes, it is, do you mind grabbing me another cup?" Maribel says holding up her empty coffee cup.

Santana's eyes widened as Charlie grabbed the cup from her mother and headed to the kitchen, "_Seriously_?" She hisses at her mother looking over at her father for backup.

"She really does have the best manners," Miguel said from where he was reading the paper on his tablet.

Santana turned to look at Quinn who dabbed at her lips with a napkin before shrugging. "I'm just here for the free food," Quinn says.

Santana rolls her eyes, and storms towards the kitchen watching as Charlie poured her mother's coffee into the cup and waited for her hazelnut flavored coffee to be made from the k-cup. "Look, I said I needed time to process this information—"

"I broke up with Dani, I would fire her but Dwight—Sam's dad—said it was a lawsuit waiting to happen and it could bankrupt the company. But I think she got the picture. I know it's more information than you needed but I wasn't going to tell you or anything. Quinn made me come."

"Of course, she did," Santana muttered. Quinn was a meddling bitch, and the moment that she got back to New York, she was going to casually mention it to Quinn's girlfriend that she had consumed meat. "That doesn't _change_ anything. You still thought sleeping with her was a good idea."

"You broke up with me. I didn't hop back into bed with her, I waited for nearly two years. You weren't answering my texts or calls. Quinn told me you were seeing people. I thought you _hated me_."

"I _don't_—I don't hate you," Santana says dropping her voice. Her parents were probably listening. "This isn't the place to do this now Charlie."

Charlie ran her hand through her hair for a moment before nodding and grabbing Santana's coffee and handing it to her, before grabbing Maribel's mug, and heading back to the dining room. "Still, I'll get out of your hair. I have to go to the office and deal with some things, anyway. Quinn wanted to spend the day with you."

"I have to live with her! This is my vacation!" Santana insists loudly, knowing that Quinn could hear her. "She went vegan!"

"She's probably picking the bacon off my plate right now," Charlie pointed out. "It didn't last long." Santana snort at this. "Look, my number hasn't changed. You can still call me if you want."

Santana nods, and takes her mother's mug from Charlie's hand. "I will—call you that is."

Charlie flashed her a smile and nods, "I'll see myself out. It was good seeing you again Santana—"

"You just saw me last night," Santana reminds her with a shake of her head.

"Right—I should go. Tell your parents that I needed to run to the office, real quick."

Santana nods watching as Charlie turns around and heads towards the door and slips on her shoes and heads out the door. She bites her lip for a moment, to stop herself from telling Charlie to stay. She exhales deeply and closes the door locking it before heading back to the dining room where everyone turned to look at her. "Yeah, emergency at the office."

"_Mija_—" Maribel began.

"We're _good_, we're fine. Just it's been two years and things are still awkward is all. Besides she didn't want to listen to Quinn bitching about how she's a vegan while she's stuffing her face with bacon."

Quinn rolled her eyes, "What she doesn't know won't hurt her."

Santana frowned she wasn't going to let Quinn off that easy. She places her mother's coffee down and takes a sip of her own. "Did you know?"

"About Charlie and Dani?" Quinn said resting her head in her hand. "Even if I did know, we don't talk about Charlie anymore, and I don't like being in the middle. You _both_ agreed to that."

"You told her I was seeing people," Santana pointed out.

"You were dating again," Quinn pointed out. "And you made it clear when you moved in that you really hoped Charlie wouldn't just show up. So, I told her, you get your space, Charlie stays in Chicago in her space." Quinn tapped her fingers looking at Santana. This was the first time that they would have a conversation like this in front of Santana's parents. It isn't till Santana looks away for a moment that she decides to answer her original question. "Sam told me about Dani _after_ it happened. And I know Dani well enough to know that if this was happening back in high school, which is when you _think _it started I would have known. Dani is the farthest thing from _discrete_. I did what I believed to be right and honestly I'd do it again."

Santana frowned, "You're still a bitch."

"You're my best friend, and Charlie's my twin sister, who is paying for my tuition and the fancy apartment we _both _live in. I have to thread the needle carefully. Because when you both get angry at each other, for some reason I'm the person you blame that the two of you can't communicate with one another. Trust me, I went over all this with Charlie last night. I am not your therapist. I am not _Charlie's _therapist. Neither one of you pays me enough to take on that roll."

"Bullshit, I help you get laid!"

"_Santana_!" Miguel snaps at his daughter. "Not at the table."

"Well I do! And I put up with all her usual bullshit and I give you _good _advice for free, like don't date that girl. You _never listen_!" Santana crosses her arms. "Now you're trying to be a vegan to a fucking _hippy_. She has _dreads_, and is a Jesus Freak. I mean for fucks sake; must you be a walking cliché?"

"_Please_, look in the mirror. Want to go over _your _greatest hits?" Quinn snaps back.

Maribel sighed as Quinn and Santana began to bicker, no wonder Charlie had taken her leave as quickly as she did. She sips her coffee and sighs. She had missed how loud the house had been, now that Santana had left. Though if she was being truthful she was glad that she had never had any more children after Santana, they probably would never stop bickering.


	30. Part 02: Chapter 29

'_Mercy.' The words come out a jumbled mess, as she twists on the gurney that she'd been strapped down. She was alone this time, no one else had survived, and she'd grown tired being near the dead rotting bodies. 'Please—mercy.' She begs, at the faceless man who was currently preparing to jam her with that long 7-gauge needle. _

_But if they heard her, they certainly didn't acknowledge her, as the needle pierces her skin she screams loudly, at the pain. They had never been gentle and she didn't know why she expected them to be. To be kind, to grant her freedom. She was going to die, she knew it. No matter how many times she promised herself that she was going to live. She was going to be killed and dissected like some terrible biology lab experiment. She'd never see her parents again._

'_We're going to need another bone marrow sample—' _

Santana gasps as she jerks awake immediately reaching out for something—_someone_ familiar only to find that the person wasn't there. Of course, she wasn't Charlie was back in Chicago, probably stuffing her face with 'pizza'. She grunts as she sits up for a moment and looks around her empty room, her eyes falling on her alarm clock. It would be just after two am if she were to call her parents now. But the last thing she needed was for one of her parents to get on the next flight over to New York just to comfort her.

She bites her lip, before kicking her thick covers off and leaving her room. She walks across the apartment, stopping only when she reaches Quinn's door. Doing this made her feel weak, and she knew she would need to invest in some more therapy but right now she needed someone to be there for her so she could _sleep_. She had a full day of classes in the morning and she didn't want to spend the entire day napping throughout her classes. She pushes open the door to Quinn's room and freezes when she spots a naked ass just laying on Quinn's bed next to Quinn. She squints, at it and frowns noting that the ass was slightly wrinkly, and she crinkles her nose in disgust. She probably shouldn't have said anything about Quinn's _last _girlfriend if she was going to start hooking up with older women. She closes the door gently and shivers as she goes to sit on the couch curling up.

"So, fucking gross," Santana muttered to herself. She _needed_ new friends, friends who weren't _banging _their English professor who was probably pushing fifty. She should have been more supportive of the Jesus Freak, at least she was hot under the right lighting and if you squinted. She glances at Quinn's phone that was charging on the table and picks it up. Well if Quinn was going to have _questionable _taste in lovers, then she was going to go snooping through her phone to figure out everything wrong with this one.

Opening up Quinn's contacts, she slowly begins to go through it, it didn't matter if she didn't know who the woman was, she was certain that Quinn had put her contact info as some _stupid_ pet name, like Honey-bear, or _Boo-Boo_. Her eyes pause on Charlie's name, the only letter C name that Quinn apparently _knew_. She hovers over the name with her finger before tapping it. It would _probably_ go to voicemail and that would simply have to do. She had done it before playing the messages that Charlie had left her when they were together. She had deleted them though after her run in with Dani.

'_Quinn_. _It's two am. I don't want to talk about your newest lover, and how great the fucking sex is.'_

Charlie's voice comes through the speakers nearly causing her to drop Quinn's phone. She scrambles and exhales she hadn't been expecting this. And a part of her wants to hang up the phone and just go back to bed. But another part of her was curious, it was two am in Chicago. "What are you doing up?"

If Charlie's surprised to hear her voice she doesn't let it show in hers. '_I haven't had a good night's sleep in years. So sometimes I take up a shift, Dwight doesn't think I should, sometimes I work out, sometimes I just go places until I'm too tired to do anything but sleep.'_

"Yeah well, I have classes all day tomorrow," Santana sighs and closes her eyes. "Especially not with the memory of the wrinkly behind of your sister's lover, burned into my memory."

'_She's dating her professor_. _I didn't know what to do so I hung up,' _Charlie admits. '_I don't think she cares if I think if it's acceptable or not._'

Santana smiles and leans back in her chair, it wasn't even that _funny_, but it was comforting in a weird way. She could feel the pull, but it was comforting. "Yeah, I don't think she cares about what I think either. And trust me I judge her _openly_ and in front of these women."

'_Good._' Charlie says, and Santana can hear some ruffling. '_So, you want to tell me why, you're calling at two am on Quinn's phone?'_

Santana sighs, she should have known this conversation was coming but that didn't mean she'd been prepared for it. "I didn't think you'd pick up since it's Quinn. Hell, I don't even pick up most of the time." It's a deflection and she can hear some more rustling for a moment as Charlie goes quiet. "Charlie?"

'_I still get nightmares too_.'

Santana freezes for a moment, she doesn't doubt it. "I don't want to talk about it," she says finally. Charlie was the only person that understood, she _understood_ in a way that others couldn't and she felt guilty for brushing it under the rug. "I just needed to sleep—what are you doing—are you eating chips at two am?"

'_No_, _I'm eating cereal_.' Charlie replies as if it were obvious.

Santana laughs, and leans back. She wasn't ready for anything more than this. "I think I'm going to start seeing a therapist up here," Charlie doesn't say anything to that and she hears some more rustling. "I think you need to talk to someone."

'_Are they going to make the nightmares stop? Are they going to make me feel like a whole person again? I already know that none of this was my fault, like what are they going to do to make me feel better?'_

The question's a surprise, she's clearly thought about it. "I was thinking more along the lines of anger management," Santana broaches gently. She can hear Charlie take a breath ready to argue it.

'_Okay_.'

"Okay?" Santana blinks sitting up in surprise.

'_I'll go to a class or something. I don't want to be angry anymore, I don't want to hurt people in my anger,' _Charlie admits.

"Are you doing this in an attempt to win me back?" Santana asks, in a slightly accusatory tone.

'_No. I'm just tired of being angry all the time. It just burns and burns and burns and I'm tired. I don't think I'm ever going to forgive them or whatever, but I need to learn to control it so I'm not lashing out._'

Santana blinks and smiles, growth. Charlie was growing that was a good sign for them, maybe one day she'd get her to see a therapist. They wouldn't be able to fix what was broken but they'd at least give Charlie the coping mechanisms that she needed to function properly, and maybe have a good night's sleep. She yawns and glances at the time for a moment. "Try and sleep for me?"

'_Okay_,' Charlie agrees. '_But you need to get some sleep as well_.'

Santana nods and yawns again, she didn't feel like getting up and heading all the way back to her room so she curls up on the couch, raising her hand to create a blanket with some decent thickness and a pillow. "Goodnight Charlie.'

'_Night Santana.' _It felt just like their routine in high school— '_Love you_.'

And there it was. Santana swallows for a moment. "I—"

'_Sorry. To soon_.'

"Yeah. We'll get there again," Santana says after a moment. "We _will_." It's a promise, because she misses her. The conversations, the late-night talks, the ridiculing Quinn's choices in partners, she missed all of it and more importantly she missed being able to reach for Charlie and for her to just _be there_.


	31. Part 02: Chapter 30

'_I think it's a cult_.'

Santana rolled her eyes as she looked at the website that Charlie had sent her, one of the counsellor's that she'd been seeing had said it would do good things. She flicks her eyes over the prices, for someone with Charlie's wealth it seemed relatively cheap. "It's not a _cult_."

'_That's what they want you to think Santana. If I come back talking about chakras and how the moon's light is a healing experience—put me out of my misery.'_

Santana rolled her eyes again, Charlie was being melodramatic. She flicks her eyes down to the registration for a moment and looks at what they offered, before biting her lip. "Charlie?"

'_Yeah?'_

Santana grinned, "I don't think this retreat is going to do anything for your anger, if anything it will only make you grumpier, and slightly more murderous."

'_What? Why?_'

"You didn't read the brochure, fully did you?" Santana questions, when Charlie grunts she sighs. "It's three days of vegetarian meals." There was utter silence on the line and for a moment and Santana looks at the phone to make sure that they hadn't gotten cut off. But they hadn't, Charlie was just being eerily quiet. "Charlie?"

'_I'm processing_. _I learned that in my anger management class_.'

"You mean you're counting backwards from a hundred, so you don't blow up," Santana teases. She waits for a moment, and shakes her head, Charlie was a _slow_ counter. "I mean I think you should still go."

'_Why?_ _So, they can torture me_?'

"We've survived actual torture," Santana reminds her. "Them not giving you a disgusting amount of _bacon_ is not torture. It's treating you like you're an actual human being, who does not need to clog her arteries with that much bacon grease." When Charlie doesn't answer again she sighs, "They said that they're going to give you vegetarian meals, and honestly it wouldn't kill you to have a bit more green in your diet."

'_So, I can bring a duffel bag filled with jerky_?'

"It's _three days_," Santana reminded Charlie, and she can practically _hear_ Charlie blink on the phone. Like such an idea was completely foreign to her. She's about to say something when she hears the door to the apartment opening. She watches as Quinn laughs, it's one of her fake laughs and raises a brow before looking at the freakishly tall woman that was behind her.

"_Oh_, Santana, I didn't know you would be back," Quinn says freezing when she spots Santana, sounding slightly disappointed. She flushes and looks up at the woman beside her who shifts uncomfortably, before deciding to introduce her. "Santana, this uh—_Fiona_."

Santana tilts her head upward and then turns to look back at Quinn for a moment, before looking back at Fiona. "The gender studies professor you were talking about?"

Quinn went bright red, "Yeah but—"

'_What's going on?_'

Santana turns her attention back to her phone and then turns to look at Quinn and Fiona once more. "Your twin is getting some _extra credit_ in women's studies." She says stressing the words as she picks up her laptop and moves to her room. It would probably be time to put in her ear plugs and see if she could get any work done.

'_Extra credit that's—oh is she sleeping with another professor?_'

"Yes." Santana informed Charlie as she headed to her room and closed the door.

'_Does she have an old lady fetish?'_

"No, I think she has a giant fetish, you should have seen her. She was like freakishly tall," Santana says dropping her voice and whispering into the phone conspiratorially.

'_Should I talk to her about her life choices_?'

Santana nods, and frowns Charlie couldn't see her. "Yeah, but not now. Let's wait till tomorrow when the regret sinks in and then pile on, because we _care _about her." She pauses for a moment. "Maybe after the retreat you can come visit? We can help find her someone _that _we both don't hate."

'_Okay—'_

"But you have to totally go three days without any meat," Santana adds. "And not you know—murder someone."

'_How is that a fair trade? I'm coming to New York! With shitty pizza and the even shittier Knicks and Yankees.' _Charlie protests immediately.

"You'll be here with me," Santana says with a shake of her head. There was silence on the phone once more and she sighs. "Are you _actually _debating if that's a fair trade?"

'_I'm wondering if I can bring a duffel bag of Chicago deep-dish on the plane.'_

**Santana rolled her eyes and hung up the phone, she attempted to stay irritated for a moment but shakes her head a small smile on her face. There were things she wanted to show Charlie and maybe her friends at Columbia would finally get off her back about dating. Charlie was making an honest effort to get better and to be honest.**


	32. Part 02: Chapter 31

Santana opened the door and grinned at Charlie for a moment, enjoying the that _pull_ between them, her body hummed in anticipation, and she takes a step forward to hug her only to stop when she spots the duffel bag slung over Charlie's shoulder. "Charlie?"

Charlie puffed out her cheeks, she had been looking forward to the hug. "Yeah?"

"You didn't _actually_ bring a duffel bag filled with Chicago-style deep dish pizza, here did you?"

"What _no_!" Charlie says indignantly, clutching the strap of the duffel bag tightly.

"Right, what's in the bag?"

"Clothes and _stuff_?"

"Stuff?" Santana says reaching for the duffel bag. She raises a brow when Charlie takes a step back. "We both know that I'm going to see what's in that duffel bag, so you might as well hand it over right now."

Charlie frowns at this before slowly handing over her bag over. "I just wanted to make sure that I was _fed_. I called the airline and they said I couldn't take a bunch of deep dishes with me on the plane. Last time I fly commercial," she mutters.

Santana rolled her eyes and opened the bag only to find several bags of chips and several salsa's, including one that looked like her mother's special recipe, in a blank jar. "Charlie? You are aware that we have _chips_ in New York, right? This isn't like some third-world country."

"Debatable," Charlie muttered. "Everything is so _expensive_ here. The taxi ride, and what the fuck is a bodega?"

Santana continued to root through the bag, she'd make Charlie a fan of the city before she left. She pauses when she gets to the bottom of the bag and glances at Charlie to see if she had any more luggage. But she didn't. "Charlie?"

"And they _talk _funny here Santana—" Charlie stops when Santana pokes her in the side. "What?"

"Where are your clothes?"

"There wasn't any room in the _bag _Santana. I had to do some trickery to get the salsa on board," Charlie says with a roll of her eyes. "Why does it matter, I can raid Quinn's closet, and you can whip me up some clothes."

Santana blink and reached forward tweaking Charlie's arms and poking at her belly for a moment, "You've been working out, you won't _fit _in Quinn's clothes, and you'd look _awful_. She's going back and forward between dressing like a _hobo_ and dressing like some prep. Your sister is giving me whiplash. Also, if I'm going to make you clothes, it's going to _embarrassing_."

"Please there is nothing that you can make—" Charlie's eye twitches when a _Yankee's _jersey appears in her hand. "You wouldn't dare."

Santana smirks and drops the jersey and duffel bag to the ground and pulls Charlie in for a kiss, smirking against her lips. It's like sparks between them, it's been far to long and she's forgotten how she missed _this_. How she missed _them_. "Well you're definitely going to be naked when you're alone in my room."

Charlie blinks back her surprise as she wraps her arms around Santana's waist lifting her up slightly, as she laughs. "I think I can work with that," she says as Santana leans forward to kiss her again. She had personally expected to be on the couch for the trip but she was _glad_ that she was going to be tangled in Santana's arm's, even if they didn't have sex it would probably be the most comfortable she'd been in years.

~O~

Matt rolled up the joint, looking at Dani frowning slightly. "I _told you_, I said it to you a million times not to get involved with her. Charlie's a fucking _psychopath_. Getting into business with her was a fucking _terrible _idea."

Dani shook her head as she held out her hand for the joint, "I'm making _good _money—more than my mom I can support her. And it wasn't _Charlie's fault_. I mean it was a long time coming, she found out what I did all those years ago. How I fucking ruined her relationship with Santana, because I thought it would make her _love me_."

"The way I see it, you should be on your knees thanking god that you dodged that bullet, she's that bitches problem now," Matt says taking a hit before handing the _joint_ over to Dani. "I mean what do you even see in her _anyway_?"

Dani shrugged wrapping her arms around her legs as she took a few hits before reaching for Matt's cheap beer. "She's kind. She's loyal, and she treated me with love and caring when we were together. You weren't there for all the good times, every time she'd smile at me like I was the only person who mattered in the world. I mean before she went MIA in high-school, we were going to be the power couple. That _it-_couple and then Quinn introduces her to Santana—yeah, she's pretty and stuff and she comes from like a _good _family but Santana will never _get her _like I do. I mean she'll never _love _her like I do. To her Charlie's just some _fling_ to piss off her parents or something. But she isn't like that for me."

"Dani. She was _going _to kill you, I saw the bruises on your _neck_," Matt said moving so he could touch her leg. "As much as you _think _you love her, as much as she thinks she loves you. Charlie's incapable, we always knew there was something off about her."

"Yeah because her _dad _was fucking kicking the shit out of her, she was quiet that doesn't make her _odd._ You _saw _those bruises, if she's got some anger issues is because he _put it _in her. I betrayed her trust, took her advantage of her. She lashed out, that's fucking normal."

Matt frowned at this before shaking his head, "You know what will make you feel better?"

"I'm not sleeping with you Matt, I don't like _dick_," Dani reminded him.

Matt rolled his eyes, "Please, you're like my sister. But we used to have so much fun hitting up those convenience stores—it was a fucking rush. I mean before you dragged Charlie into it."

"Charlie never hit up convenience stores, we wanted her for the strip club job," Dani reminded him.

"Yeah and that's when all the weird shit started happening, missing walls, we're _lucky_ the mob or something didn't find us," Matt said shaking his head.

Dani shook her head, "She _offered_ you a position in the company you turned her down, she's not going to chase after you. If you want a job, then you should _ask her._"

"After what she did to you?" Matt snorts at this, he was too proud to go ask her for a job. "Look, I could use my old partner watching my back, it'll take your mind off Charlie, and it'll be fun."

Dani hesitates for a moment, it sounded like fun, something that she was sorely lacking in her life. "I _shouldn't_—we shouldn't. Look I know things are tense between me and Charlie right now but I can ask her if she can hire you."

"No. I don't want to work for her. Look I get it, you're someone important now, making some _decent _money, but are you seriously going to forget where you came from? The fun we had? We were never _caught_. Come on."

They had _never _been caught and it did sound like a good time. It was a _good _time and she nods after a moment. "Alright, but this can't be a thing that we do Matt, if we get caught—" Dani shakes her head.

"Please we've never been caught before, let's not start now."


	33. Part 02: Chapter 32

Santana straddled Charlie grinning as she pulled off her shirt, enjoying the fact that Charlie's eyes zoomed in on her breasts. It was the reaction she'd been going for. It wasn't as if she _hadn't _noticed Charlie's lingering glances, and the blonde trying to avoid openly staring.

"San—they're _bigger_." Charlie said glancing up, they were practically spilling out of Santana's bra. She'd been gone a _week_, boobs didn't just grow like that overnight. She had just thought it was a very nice push-up bra, or something of the sort that had her trying not to look down Santana's shirt. Things were going well between them and she didn't want to fuck it up by being a perv.

"I know, aren't the amazing? You're not the only one who's been experimenting with your abilities, go on touch them." Charlie reaches for them gently touching them, before deciding to grab a handful. Charlie massaged them for a moment before looking up at Santana a childish grin on her face. "If you _motorboat _me, I'll make you sleep with Quinn tonight." She threatens even though her tone is light.

Charlie's smile grows at the statement, and she goes back to massaging them. "I'm pretty sure cruel and unusual punishment. Just like keeping these locked up," Charlie says as a hand slides to Santana's back and she begins to fiddle with the bra, it takes a moment before she finally manages to remove Santana's bra. She bites her lips in anticipation for a moment and tries to ignore the little voice in the back of her head that is practically screaming at her that she needed to ask why Santana had done it. She would—after they had sex. She was _only_ human, and it wasn't as if she had dreamed of this moment for _years_.

Santana smirks pleased with the response and gently tilts Charlie's head up so she can kiss her, she had been with other people but they didn't know her body like Charlie did. They certainly couldn't get her off over and over again like Charlie could, maybe it was their bond but everything felt so intense. Every caress, every kiss, every orgasm felt earth-shattering. She could whisper her fantasies into Charlie's ear without fear that Charlie wouldn't be into it, they just _fit_ together. She groans into the kiss as she feels Charlie running her hand over her back, focusing on that sweet spot that she liked so much. She pulls back for a moment narrowing her eyes, Charlie had far too many clothes on. She tugs on Charlie's Yankees jersey that she personally got a kick out of her wearing, "Off!"

Charlie laughs and grips the bottom of her shirt and tries to shimmy it off, letting Santana grow impatient and grab at the fabric, she needed to bring her A game tonight. Her shirt comes off and she grips Santana's hips, rolling hers for a bit of momentum so she can push Santana onto the couch and get to work. She grunts as Santana's nail scratch at her back, and she knows there are going to be marks but she doesn't give a damn right now. Making Santana orgasm over and over again, bring her pleasure is the only thing on her mind. She leans in kissing Santana's jaw roughly, Santana had always enjoyed it slightly rough. She hoped certain things were still the same.

Santana groans as Charlie finds yet another spot this one on her neck and tilts her head back giving Charlie slightly more access, when she notices that the door is open and Quinn and some short little hobbit is standing at the doorway, staring at them. She debates giving them one hell of a show, Quinn could probably learn a few tricks from Charlie, but she's not interested in having some tiny little hobbit watching them. "Charlie. _Off_. We've got guests."

Charlie stops immediately her lips still on Santana's neck as she tilts her head letting her hair fall into her face as she glares at her twin sister.

Quinn cleared her throat, her cheeks aflame in embarrassment as Charlie sat up and grimaced slightly, she needed to work out more. This wasn't what she wanted Rachel to see, she _really _liked Rachel, and they'd only been on like three dates. "You know there are perfectly good bedrooms!" If it's even possible her cheeks heat up even more and she swallows. "I'm sorry about that, I mean I get it's a surprise to know that I have an identical twin, but please excuse her terrible manners. Charlie has _issues_."

"Yeah, I'm letting you live in this gorgeous apartment rent free," Charlie muttered under her breath and yelps when Santana pinches her side. "What?"

Santana flicked her eyes towards the short woman who was beside Quinn who was practically leering at Charlie, and smacks Charlie again. "Put on your shirt. You're making Quinn feel inadequate."

Quinn's head whips towards Santana who laughs at her discomfort. "_Fuck you _Lopez."

"Your twin was about to," Santana shoots back before turning to look at Rachel. "What's wrong with you?"

"Oh, for fucks sakes! _Santana_." Quinn groaned reaching to grab Rachel and march her out. "There's nothing—look maybe we should go. My sister was raised in a barn and she's managed to drag Santana down to her level."

Rachel didn't budge, but she did tear her eyes away from Charlie guiltily. "It's perfectly fine Quinn, I _like _meeting family. Parents love me."

"Our dad's in jail and our mom's dead—_ow _Santana!"

Santana flicked her eyes to Quinn as she slips on a shirt, "What are you doing home? I thought you had classes all afternoon?"

"I decided to take the day, what are you doing home?"

Santana shot Quinn a look, before reaching over and groping Charlie's left boob. "This. This is what I wanted to be doing at home today."

Charlie tilted her head, before sliding off the couch to move towards Quinn and inspect the woman beside her. "Are you a vegan? Are you one of Quinn's professor's? Are you over thirty?"

"For fucks sake Charlie, I don't need your permission on who to fucking date." Quinn said shoving Charlie away and looking at Rachel she had just wanted a nice quiet evening. Santana generally left her alone but with Charlie there, they fed off each other to be even bigger pain in her ass. "You don't have to answer—"

"Yes, but as I've discussed with Quinn, she's free to eat meat. I think she should cut back of course, and there is vigorous brushing before we kiss, but it's to keep my voice in pristine condition. I want to be on Broadway," Rachel explains to Charlie, who doesn't blink and it's slightly unnerving. Quinn had mentioned that her siblings were odd. "I am not one of Quinn's professors, I go to NYADA, it's a performing arts school and I'm twenty-three." The fact that Charlie's still not blinking is still very worrisome and she decides to continue. "My name is Rachel Barbra Berry; my middle name comes from Barbra Streisand and I sign my name with a star so I remember that I'm going to be a star one day."

Charlie finally blinked and then turned to Santana, "Do we like her?"

"Not sure yet," Santana responds to Charlie. "We'll give this one a chance though. At least she's under thirty this time." Santana said with a shrug.

"Oh. My. God." Quinn said horrified. Rachel was never going to agree to another date. She was going to run away from the insane people. Charlie and Santana were doing this on purpose, they were fucking with her life for shits and—Quinn turns when Rachel laughs.

"Well thank you for giving me the chance, I really do like her."

Santana glanced at Charlie before shrugging, they might as well give this one a chance. Quinn was running out of options as far as she was concerned. "Fine, whatever. Come on Charlie, let's go get some pizza."

Charlie sighed, "Fine but we're going to need to get like five of them since the pizza is so paper thin here."

"You're not eating five large pizzas Charlie," Santana retorted with a roll of her eyes, "You're going to have a slice—"

"Two."

"Fine two slices of pizza like a _normal_ person," Santana said grabbing Charlie by the hand and pulling her back to her room. "I was serious about getting food," Santana says as she watches as Charlie tries to remove her shirt. "Quinn ruined the moment."

"I can make her disappear you know," Charlie said frowning as she put her shirt back on.

Santana glanced over at Charlie who smiled, it was _probably _a joke. And she did know that despite Charlie's behavior towards Quinn she really did love her twin. "No. People would totally blame me for her disappearance."

"Or one of the professors she's been sleeping with. Are you _certain_ you're okay with uh—"

"Rachel, her name's Rachel and I have a good feeling about this one. So be nice, and don't try and scare her away by being weird." Santana said turning to look at Charlie. She frowns when she sees Charlie's unblinking gaze, "What's wrong? Are you getting a bad feeling about her?"

Charlie blinks once and flicks her eyes down to Santana's breast. "You're beautiful you know that, I think you're the hottest girl in the world. Like seriously you should be a model, but I'd totally get jealous of all the guys and women staring at you," Charlie rubs the back of her neck.

Santana tilts her head and takes a seat down on her bed, patting the space beside her. "What are you going on about. I _know _I'm the hottest woman in the world."

Charlie takes a seat and bites her lip. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I _really_ like your breasts right now, but I liked your breasts before too, I don't want you to think that I'm just—" Charlie waves her hand desperately trying to find the words that she needed to say. "Objectifying you?"

"Objectifying me?" Santana echoes.

"Yeah! That. Right, I'm not, doing that. I don't know if you did this for me, to keep me, or if you did this to feel good about yourself, or whatever—but you're _beautiful_, and you didn't need to make your breasts bigger. Am I making sense? This isn't like offending you right?" Charlie babbles. This was why Quinn needed to remain single so she could translate her terrible words and put them into something that wasn't offensive.

Santana leans forward kissing Charlie to keep her quiet, and to stop this from getting anymore awkward. "I honestly was just playing around with my abilities; your powers keep growing why not mine? You know I can heal right? I got a papercut and then I managed to make it go away." Charlie raises a brow at the statement and she can't help the heat that rises to her cheeks, as she looks away. Charlie hadn't believed her. She wouldn't _say_ anything, Charlie rarely did, but she didn't like that Charlie could just _tell_, when she was left in the dark half the time. "You're a dick."

"What I do?" Confusion spread across Charlie's face as she looked at Santana in surprise.

"How come you can read me and I can't read you?" Santana complains half-heartedly. "I just—aren't there days where you wake up and you just don't _like_ your body? You feel ugly?" Santana pauses for a moment, Charlie's hair was overgrown again, and she complained whenever Quinn dragged her shopping. "Never mind you don't care what you look like."

Charlie runs a hand through her hair, "I feel like that was a jab about how I look," she says with a small laugh. "I know I don't get anxiety about how I look the same way that you and Quinn do, but I do get anxiety Santana. About whether I'm good enough for you. Then I worry about whether I'm around enough for you—"

"Charlie you run a multimillion dollar company, and you're here every weekend these days giving me your _full _attention. You've met my friends from school, they _like _you, though I think it's because they want to hit you up for a job when they graduate. And what's this nonsense of being good enough?" Santana demands poking Charlie in the chest angrily.

Charlie smiles and pokes at Santana's boobs. "What's this nonsense of you not being a twenty on a scale of ten?"

Santana rolled her eyes, "Don't be cheesy Charlie, it's not attractive at all." Santana sniffs as Charlie slides behind her and wraps her arms around her waist.

"Yeah, but we all have our irrational anxieties, you're _beautiful_ and if I need to remind you of that everyday I will," Charlie promised nuzzling Santana's neck.

Santana relaxes in Charlie's arms, she _believed_ that Charlie would too. "Charlie?"

"Hmm?" Charlie prompts.

"You can have _one _entire pizza and garlic knots," Santana says after a moment.


	34. Part 02: Chapter 33

Santana rolled off Charlie, panting hard as she felt the strapon slide out of her pussy and groaned, she felt empty and she glances over at Charlie who had a very stupid looking smile on her face. She gently swats Charlie's arm. "You okay there Charlie?"

Charlie nods, that had simply _been _glorious, after blinking twice she rolls over, a serious expression on her face. It had been years since they'd had sex, and she wasn't stupid enough to believe that Santana had never been with anyone else. "Was that as good for you as it was for me?"

"Probably better," Santana admits leaning in to kiss Charlie gently, there was an earnestness to please her that she really couldn't get enough of. She watches as Charlie nods at this statement, and she had an idea where this was going and decided to cut it off before Charlie could ask. "Definitely top three."

Charlie frowns at the statement, "Just top three?" With a bit of effort, she rolls herself on top of Santana pinning her to the bed and leaning in to kiss her.

Santana squirms laughing, "Does it matter if you make up the top three?" Santana grins. "I mean at some point you're not going to be able to outdo yourself."

"Wanna bet?" Charlie says gently kissing Santana's jaw, she's rewarded with a pinch to her side causing her to yelp and roll of Santana.

"I'm sure you'll come up with something," Santana says with a shake of her head. "But right now, I'm still extremely sensitive and if you go near me again, I _swear_ I'll kick you in the face. She raises a brow when Charlie snorts at this. "You think I'm not being serious."

"I know you are," Charlie says as she sits up rubbing Santana's leg. "I mean—"

"My foot. Your face." Santana says with a shake of her head. "If you want to pamper the shit out of me, I suggest getting me a bowl of strawberries, and don't forget the whipped cream this time."

Charlie raised a brow and grins, they were definitely going to have a _part _three. She gets up and moves to the door to go and retrieve the whipped cream when Santana clears her throat. She turns to look back at her, "What?"

"Put on some pants. I don't want the hobbit to have ideas. She enjoys staring at you, it's weird. Quinn's been on a health kick lately to try and do whatever it is you do."

"I subscribe to the gym of Sam Evan's is a fucking sadist, who enjoys torturing me." Charlie shivered, as she pulls on a pair of sweatpants.

"Mm, remind me to send Sam a fruit basket or something," Santana smirks, and laughs when Charlie shoots her annoyed grin. "I appreciate the work you're doing. Keep doing it."

Charlie rolled her eyes and grabbed the Knicks basketball jersey that Santana enjoyed her wearing. She knew it was only to get under her skin but it made Santana happy. She finally heads to the door and slips her hand into her pocket pulling out her phone to check through her texts quickly. She'd been ignoring it for most of the day especially when she'd seen it was Dani texting her. She flicks through them, before she realizes that Sam had also been blowing up her phone. She frowns, and pops open the fridge grabbing the fresh strawberries and the can of whip cream. She glances around before pouring a mouthful and licking her lips as she opened Sam's text.

**There's been an incident you need to come home.**

Charlie blinks at this statement twice before closing her phone and pouring some more whipped cream in her mouth and grabbing a knife and a bowl. Santana liked her strawberries without the leaves at the top, and she didn't mind doing it for her. She finishes cutting up the strawberries and heads back to the bedroom with the bowl.

Santana grins at Charlie as her phone rings and she reaches for it. She half expected it to be her mother, making sure she was still alive. She probably hadn't called today. "Hello?"

Charlie puffs out her cheeks at Santana answering the phone, before remembering she wasn't naked and thus couldn't sufficiently distract Santana. She begins to pull off her jersey.

"What the fuck do you want Sam?"

Charlie frowns and nearly trips as she tries to strip out of her pants, why the hell was Sam calling Santana?

Santana holds her phone out for her. "It's for you. Also, I think he's terrified of me."

"Or of what I'm going to do to him. He _knows_ that my weekends are for you," Charlie grumbled grabbing the phone.

"Charlie," Santana said with a raised brow.

"Kidding," Charlie said flashing Santana a smile. "This had better be good Sam, I had whipped cream in my hands," Charlie grumbled. She ignores the unamused look that Santana gives her, but she needed Sam to get to the point.

'_You need to come back home. I can't talk about it over the phone—'_

"Then I'm not coming home, I only have weekends with Santana, I'm not cutting it early. I told you that you were in charge when I'm gone." Charlie said running a hand through her hair. These weekends put her in a far better mood and made the week bearable because she had something to look forward to.

'_Charlie. Do you remember what Dani and Matt got up to in high school?_'

Charlie's body tenses for a long moment, "She makes a six-figure salary, and I haven't talked to Matt since _high school. _If he asked I would have given him a job. They're both too old to do that shit—what happened Sam."

'_There's a body. They dropped a body.'_

Charlie blinked slowly, "That's not really any of our business Sam. Let them handle it, I didn't tell them to do that shit."

'_Charlie, we can't just let them handle it. They know stuff—'_

"They don't actually know shit, look. I'm going to enjoy my night with Santana and then I'll come back tomorrow. Keep them calm, also book me a flight and send me the details. I'm going to go and make it up to my girlfriend." Charlie doesn't wait for a response, instead she ended the call and headed back to the room, where Santana was eating strawberries and attempting to pretend that she hadn't been eavesdropping. "I've got to head back tomorrow morning, but I can totally make it up to you right now."

"What did _she _do to get your attention this time and when can you fire her?" Santana asked narrowing her eyes slightly.

Charlie flops onto the bed. "I think she'll be fired by tomorrow. I just have to deal with the fallout like a normal human being."

"What did she do?" Santana pressed watching as Charlie glanced at her for a moment, there was that look in her eye.

"Honestly, Sam didn't go into details," Charlie said as she grabs the whipped cream. She's stopped by Santana's hand and she glances up at her.

"Something illegal?" Santana presses. When Charlie doesn't deny it immediately she frowns "I thought you promised me—"

"I _stopped_, I promised that I wouldn't do that anymore, and I haven't. The company is important to me, and I don't need to steal anything. Dani on the other hand seems to have regressed since I broke up with her and she and old _acquaintance_, may have started hitting up convenience stores. It's _not _under my orders, hell even as a teenager I told her what a shitty idea it was."

Santana wrinkled her nose, "What did you ever see in her?"

Charlie shrugged, "I don't remember. I'm not going back to her, I promise Santana. And if Sam's right then I can force her to resign."

Santana nods slightly ticked off, Dani was already back in their lives. "Just make sure this isn't a scheme to get you back. I'm just saying you should get my name tattooed on your body, somewhere visible so she knows."

"Okay."

Santana blinks and looks at Charlie. "I'm kidding."

"I'm not. I mean after what happened to us I'm not a massive fan of needles but if you're there I don't think I'd mind getting one on my arm, or hip or something."

Santana swallows at the intensity, Charlie could do that at times. She could be saying something, anything and the next thing she knew it would be that quiet intensity, that look that sent shivers down her spine, she leans forward and kisses her. "Maybe one day, okay. But I don't want you to get it because I'm irritated that Dani fucking Harper is still a part of your life."

"Okay," Charlie mumbles, before smiling and hitting Santana with some whipped cream. "Now let me make it up to you."


	35. Part 02: Chapter 34

Sam looked at Dani and Matt rubbing his arm, they had never been nice to him, always looking at him with suspicion and not understanding why Charlie chose him to confide in. "Her flight landed an hour ago, she should be back soon."

Dani nods and licks her lips, "She's not—" she pauses for a moment. "How angry was she?"

Sam hesitates for a moment, "Truthfully?" He pauses for another moment. "She's more irritated that she's been forced to leave Santana, the _weekend_ is the only time that they have together. They're finally together and given how relaxed Charlie's been lately, and _happy_, this is just going to tick her off." He shifts for a moment before turning to look at Dani. "What were you thinking, I mean Matt I sort of get—"

"Cause I'm black?" Matt interrupted, bristling angrily at the comment.

"_Matt_."

Sam flushed and looked away, he should have just waited for Charlie. She could make the problem go away, though he wasn't sure if she _would_ make the problem go away or _them._ Even he had noticed how happy she was, and the anger management classes that Santana was insisting she take was a god send. Though Charlie had never been an _angry_ person, but whatever they were doing was keeping whatever darkness that was within Charlie contained. "I didn't mean it like that," Sam says finally. "You've been doing this for _years_ Matt. We're not teenagers anymore, if you just asked Charlie for a job she would have found a position for you. We've got a _bunch_ of people like that working for us now. You _used _to be friends. Charlie's loyal like that."

Matt scoffs openly at the idea.

"Matt and I were never friends," Charlie says causing everyone to turn around to her surprised that she had managed to enter without a sound. "Rivals? Maybe, he hasn't managed to understand that Dani isn't physically attracted to him because of what's between his legs."

"Bullshit, I don't like you because you're a fucking psychopath. You're an abusive _asshole_ Fabray." Matt spits and looks at Sam. "Do you even know who you work for? Do you know the _shit _that she did to Dani?"

Dani flushed and grabbed Matt's arm, "_Matt_—"

"She nearly killed her!" Matt snaps at Charlie. "I saw the bruises around her neck, I _know _you choked her out, and you would have killed her if Quinn hadn't stopped you!"

Charlie studies Matt before finally turning to look at Dani, her hazel eyes meeting Dani's brown ones. It was the first time since the _incident_ that she had given Dani any attention. It only lasts for a moment, a _brief _one, before she turns her attention back to Matt. "She's still alive, isn't she? If I wanted Dani dead she'd be dead—"

Matt roars and makes a run at Charlie only to crash into Sam, had he always been so fit before? He struggles for a moment before finally pulling away. "This was a _fucking _mistake."

"It was," Charlie agrees. "This isn't my problem Matt and I have no idea why you'd expect me to help you. I don't even like you. And I don't even _trust _you," Charlie said flicking her eyes to Dani.

Dani takes a breath, she had expected this more than anything but if Charlie was going to pretend that they hadn't had something special, then she needed to think about her own future. She couldn't go to jail. "Okay, I know you're angry about what I did to interfere with you and Santana but—I don't want to go to jail."

Charlie blinked, "Then you _shouldn't _have gone to rob convenience stores. I was certain that I _told _you it was a shitty idea, even back then. A lot of these guys are small business owners, they struggle for their family just like your parents struggled for you."

"Please like you've _never _done anything illegal, we _know things_." Matt spits angrily.

"What things do you know?" Charlie said with a raised brow, an amused look on her face. Matt didn't know _shit_.

"I know how you made the money for your company," Matt retorts. "You're just as much as a criminal as we are. How many strip joints did you _hit_? How much money did you invest into your company? I know you framed your father."

"Do you have any proof?" Sam said with a frown, if Matt and Dani got caught, he knew they would talk and the police would take a closer look into Charlie, and the company. His family's fortune was currently tied up in the company, he wasn't going back to sharing a room in a crappy motel with his family.

"Proof? She handed me thousands of dollars in high school, stolen from a strip joint. You think I don't remember that?"

Sam hesitates and looks at Charlie for a moment, not quite sure what to make of it. He was aware of how Charlie had made her fortune, he was just as complicit, but Charlie didn't seem worried by Matt's accusation.

Charlie tilted her head, "You murdered someone innocent. How does this mess have anything to do with me? Or the company. I know a district attorney, perhaps I can get you a decent plea deal, ten years?"

"Ten _years_?" Matt sputters.

"You _murdered _someone in broad daylight," Charlie points out. "The only saving grace I imagine is that the cops here are _incredibly _incompetent, it's not like they saw your face, right? You didn't do anything stupid like leave fingerprints either right?"

Dani swallows slowly, there was almost a mocking note in Charlie's voice. The cruelty was still there and she _knew _that Charlie was still punishing her. "Can you two give us a moment."

Charlie narrowed her eyes slightly when Sam looked at her before nodding once.

"If she touches you—"

"Charlie isn't going to hurt me Matt, so _please_. Just give us a moment."

Charlie watches as Sam and Matt leave and turns to look at Dani making sure to keep her distance from Dani. "I hope you realize that this is the excuse I'm using to fire you right?" Charlie says calmly. "I would have done it earlier but Dwight made such a stink about it, workplace harassment laws being what they are and the current climate—"

"I'm not going to—I would _never _rat you out. I would never sue you," Dani says firmly, taking a step towards Charlie stopping to flinch when Charlie glares at her. "I know why you don't trust me, and I get it. I admit that I was jealous of her. Santana, I don't know you just disappeared for two months and then the next thing I know you're in _love _with this girl. A girl who is hotter than me, that comes from a good family—and what I saw was her trying to change you into something you weren't—"

"Santana makes me a better person, she makes me _want _to be better for her. I didn't want to drag her down, it's why I _have _this business," Charlie interrupts. She studies Dani for a moment before continuing, "I never _felt _love with you. You were just a convenient distraction from my shitty home-life, and you gave me the control I craved. Being with you—it made me feel trapped. It made me feel like I deserved it, not that I could aim for something higher."

The words hurt and she swallows and blinks back the tears that are threatening to fall. "I _know_. I did something shitty, I betrayed your trust, I helped keep you and Santana apart, I manipulated your feelings on her. I know I was shitty, but if you're going to fire me. _Fire _me. But I can't go to jail, I just can't."

Charlie frowned, "This isn't _my _problem Dani. It's just not. This mess is on you. Even if Matt tries to go to the police, my lawyers will claim that he's been jealous of me for years, and this is just an attempt to get him off the case. Besides, the company is clean. It's been _clean _for years. They're not going to find anything suspicious."

"Charlie—" Dani inhales. "I'll leave, I'll hand in my resignation papers, I'll clean out my desk and I'll be gone. I'll leave you and Santana to be happy if you _fix _this. Just make the evidence disappear."

Charlie blinks, twice. "What did you _leave _behind as evidence?"

"The gun, I dropped it. I dropped the gun." Charlie makes a low whistling sound and Dani shakes her head. "I don't think it has my fingerprints in it. It was an _accident_. I _swear_, it wasn't supposed to happen. And you know as well as I do, that it's not going to be _ten _years. There isn't _going _to be any parole. So please, and I'll take Matt and you'll never hear from me again. I swear."

Charlie is quiet for a moment, mulling over Dani's offer. There was nothing she _really_ wanted, but if Dani left then Santana wouldn't be upset about her presence anymore. She wouldn't have to deal with the headache if Matt decided to open his big mouth to the police. The company wasn't the issue, she was certain that books were clean, but if they opened a case against her, her father might actually manage to get out of prison and she couldn't have that. "And Matt will agree to this?"

Dani nods, this time the tears begin to slip down her face. "I'll make sure he sees reason."

Charlie nods. "Good, now I need to call my girlfriend and let her know that business has been handled," Charlie says pulling out her phone.


	36. Part 02: Chapter 35

Santana glanced at her phone suspiciously as it rang, she hadn't _heard_ from her mother in the past few days, which was odd. She had made a few attempts, but her mother hadn't called back till _now_. She bites her lip and looks at the arrivals on her computer once more before picking it up. "_Mami_?" she prompts.

'_I'm sorry mija, things have been hectic for the past week. This is the first moment that I've had to breathe, and I can't stay long. We're having emergency meetings, as we try and figure out what to do. I just called to see how you're doing, how are your grades?_'

"Fine, they're fine—I'm _fine_. What's going on? What happened?" Santana asks glancing at her laptop once more and smiling when she sees that the flight from Chicago has arrived on time, and Charlie would soon be there. There's a pause from her mother and she flicked her eyes to the phone.

'_Someone broke into an evidence locker. Every last bit of evidence was stolen, it looked like a tornado hit. We've lost key evidence in several cases, a few cases there were going on trial again. Some of these cases were rock solid, and those murderers and drug dealers are going to walk. A few of my cases have fallen apart at the seams, so if you really need anything mija you're going to need to pester your father. There are several weeks worth of all-nighters in my future. I haven't even seen your father since Sunday.'_

"How? Isn't the evidence locker one of the most secure places in the station how did someone just walk in and _empty_ the place? Doesn't it have a guard?"

'_That's the thing we don't actually know how it happened. Cameras didn't catch anything or anyone acting suspiciously, but suddenly everything was gone. No one knows how it happened or who could have pulled it off. It honestly looks very similar to some of those strip club robberies a few years back but with considerably less damage.'_

"You mean the ones that Charlie's father did?" Santana prompted, knowing the answer to the question already. Charlie had _promised _no more criminal activity, she had sworn that she had changed over a new leaf. But Charlie was the only person on the planet who could get into a secure location without leaving a shred of evidence.

'_Yeah, we've always suspected that he wasn't smart enough to pull it off. This confirms it, unfortunately the judge in his case agreed to a retrial, but we don't have any of the evidence to hold him. This may be related, I'm not honestly sure. I know the prosecutor in the case is going to try everything he can but Charlie might need to testify again, and there's a good chance that he walks. The evidence simply isn't there Santana. I know that a message was left for both the twins but it's not looking good.'_

"I—I'll mention it to her," Santana said reaching over and closing her laptop.

'_Mija, you don't need to. I'll make sure the prosecutor assigned to that case gives her a call and has the conversation with her. We'll do everything in our power to keep him locked up. I can't imagine his time in prison has made him kinder."_

"Yeah, that's a lot to unload but I'll make sure that they're together and they can deal with it," Santana manages to get out. They had been doing so well how could Charlie do this to them? Would she even be honest about the whole thing?

'_I'm sorry to dump it all on you but right now we're trying to figure out how not to bankrupt the state. I'm certain that there will be several multimillion dollar lawsuits and we're not sure how to guard against them, we don't even have a working theory about how it happened or a suspect.'_

Santana bit her lip hard enough to draw blood. Charlie. It was Charlie. There was no way around it. She could end all this right now, but there wasn't a prison on the planet that could hold Charlie and she _knew _that Charlie wouldn't bother to deal with jail. They'd been imprisoned together and they had promised each other never again. She shivers. "Well keep me in informed, and yeah I'll call dad. Make sure you eat and take care of yourself."

'_Charlie's business has been a godsend these days, since you two are dating again maybe if you explain what's going on she might be able to do something—"_

"_Mami_."

'_It was just a suggestion! I mean what's the point of having a daughter dating the CEO of a multimillion dollar company if there are no perks every now and again.'_

Santana rolled her eyes, it was a good thing she had made sure her mother wasn't getting any perks from Charlie this whole thing was a mess. Charlie was still the criminal she had promised she wouldn't be. "I'll talk to Charlie about it, she's going to be here soon."

'_Have fun_.'

"Yeah," Santana said forcing some cheer into her voice as she hung up. She was tempted to call Quinn and demand to know what she knew about this, but Quinn had class or was currently having sex with Rachel, she wasn't quite sure which one it was, but Quinn didn't have the answers. Which begged the question if Charlie would lie to her or not. She couldn't take it if Charlie _lied_, she was so damn good at it, she wasn't sure if she _would_ know the truth or not. She exhales, it would be best if she confronted Charlie.

~O~

Charlie ran a hand through her hair quickly, as she did before she always came face to face with her girlfriend. It didn't actually do anything but it made her feel like she was putting on her best self for Santana. She knocks on the door trying to keep herself calm. Being around Santana _made _her feel good. It made her feel at peace and being away sucked. The door swings open after a moment and Charlie takes a step in to kiss Santana only to be stopped by a firm hand on her chest. She blinks slowly and studies Santana's face realizing that she was irate. "San—"

"Did you do it?" Santana asked pulling Charlie inside and closing the door. They couldn't have this conversation in the hallway. She holds up her hand before Charlie can utter a word. "Don't _lie _to me about this. Just _don't_."

Charlie tilts her head at Santana, it takes her a moment to figure out what Santana is talking about before nodding. "Yeah, but I did it to get Dani out of our lives. She resigned, packed up her desk. Signed a document that released the company from all and any liability or something, and she left. All she asked was that I give her a good reference so she can get another job and I said that I would. But she's out of our lives."

"What the _fuck _does Dani _fucking _Harper have to do with this?" Santana hisses.

Charlie holds her hands up defensively, she understood how this looked. "Remember how last week I needed to leave because Sam wouldn't stop bothering us? It's because Dani and Matt, you don't know Matt I used to sort of be in their group in high school. Matt wants to fuck Dani and hated me because you know Dani was in love with me or whatever, and I didn't return her feelings—"

"_Charlie_," Santana interrupted, she didn't want to hear Charlie's life story or any extraneous information she just wanted to hear the truth.

Charlie narrowed her eyes and picked at her fingernails, "Dani and Matt used to hit up convenience stores. I never did it with them but I knew they were doing it. Long story short, after I broke up with Dani, she lost her mind and decided to dick around with Matt again. They hit up a convenience store, and Dani's gun went off. They killed someone, and they came to me to clean it up. I told them to go fuck themselves at first this had nothing to do with me. I told them it was a matter of time till someone got hurt or ended up dead. Dani promised to leave the company and drop out from my life completely if I cleaned it up for her. So, I did."

Santana took a shaky breath, it sounded so incredibly _stupid_. "Let me make sure I _understand _this correctly, Dani your _ex-girlfriend_, someone that I despise asked you to commit a _felony_ for her and you did it?"

"I did it so Dani would leave us alone. If you're implying that I wouldn't commit a felony for you, we both know that's untrue," Charlie points out, looking at Santana. She had known that Santana wasn't going to be happy, but at least she seemed calm.

"The whole point was for you _not to commit _felonies, you promised me you'd—"

"I said I would stop killing people, I never actually promised to stop committing felonies," Charlie pointed out.

Santana stared at Charlie she couldn't believe that they were having this conversation or how Charlie could say all this with a _straight _face. "You shouldn't be committing any felonies. I assumed that you had stopped being a thief—"

"I have. I don't go around killing people, I told Dani no at first, but this was an opportunity that I _needed_ to get rid of her."

"She _admitted _to killing someone, the _police _could have handled it for you—but then they'd take a look at your _accounts_, and you don't _want that. _Do you?"

Charlie frowned, "I'm not going to sit here and pretend that it didn't cross my mind. We've been _audited,_ by the IRS, they gave us a clean bill of health, I doubt the police would find anything but the less people who look at my finances the better."

"Charlie, you can't just break the law because it's convenient for you. You do know _right _from wrong, don't you? Dani _killed _an innocent person who probably had a family, who probably had a wife and kids who loved him. Maybe he was the sole provider or something—how do you not understand this. They deserve justice, don't they?" Santana closes her eyes and exhales noisily. "Do you just not value human life?"

"Of course, I—"

"No, I don't think you do. You want to hurt the people who hurt us because they _hurt you_. You wanted to hurt your father because he _hurt _you. You want to _hurt _people, it doesn't matter who it is, but you like getting even. You're keeping a tally in your head and I have to wonder what happens when I hurt you? Are you going to lash out me as well?" Of course, you'll say it right now that you would never, but you _get even_, that's what you do Charlie. You don't think of all the collateral damage. You took out an entire evidence locker, cases that my mom and other prosecutors and the police worked hard on are now _gone_. Killers, rapists, they're all going to walk because of what you did, and all you care about is Dani's out of your life." Santana frowns slightly. "Your _father_ is probably going to walk."

"My _father _is rotting in prison for the next twenty years, he's probably going to die there," Charlie said with a frown.

"There was new evidence unearthed that might have exonerated him, the evidence that you destroyed, well _guess _what? That evidence can't be used anymore. They no longer have it. Your father is going to walk. I guess that's the price you _paid _for getting involved with Dani and whatever dipshit plan she had," Santana spits. "You fucked yourself, and Quinn over in the process because you decided to do something _illegal_, and selfish. There are fucking consequences to your actions Charlie. Who knows what the fallout is going to be from this. My mom might lose her job, and she's been nothing but kind and accepting to you. She doesn't deserve this."

Charlie's eyes narrow at this news and she frowns, clenching her fists tightly.

Santana blinked she could see it written plain as day on Charlie's face. "You're thinking about making him disappear, aren't you?"

Charlie doesn't answer, instead looking away. "I'll do better next time. No more felonies, no more crime," Charlie said slowly.

"I don't believe you," Santana says honestly, she could hear her weariness in her voice. "I want to, but I don't."

Charlie immediately took a step closer, wanting to desperately hold Santana close, but she takes a step back and the look of sadness etched on her face, breaks her heart before Santana's next words do.

"I can't _be _with someone like you Charlie. I just can't. You say you'll be better and I'll get my hopes up only to have them dashed again. I _just _can't."

It's a sharp kick to the gut and Charlie staggers backward, "Santana—_please_—don't leave me. _Please_. I'll be better I swear I'll do better. I _promise_."

Santana shakes her head, her eyes stinging as the tears begin to build up, "Charlie I can't. I just can't anymore, we can still see each other but I can't _be _with someone like you. I can't be with someone who has no respect for me or the law, and even if you have the best intentions you _hurt _everyone around you. You'll hurt me again and again without meaning to and I just want to be happy."

"Aren't you happy with me?" Charlie says finally managing to get a hold of Santana's hand. "Don't you love me?"

"Charlie, I can't. Please just go."

"Santana—"

"Charlie—_please_." Santana jerks her hand out of Charlie's grasp and moves towards the door opening it. "_Leave_."

Charlie frowns, confusion on her face as she looks at Santana and nods, she stops at the door. "I love you, and I would never hurt you."

"This hurts me, every time you do this it _hurts _me." Santana says tilting her head towards the door.

**Charlie swallows and nods taking a step outside the threshold. It hurts just as badly the second time as Santana closes the door behind her. Closes the door on ****_them_****, and she feels her eyes blur and the tears start to pour down her face. "****_Please_****," she whispers, but the door doesn't open and this isn't some sick joke.**


	37. Part 02: Chapter 36

Rachel looked over at where Santana was busy in the kitchen and leaned over to nudge Quinn who was chewing on the tip of her pen staring at her notes. "Are you certain she's okay?" Rachel asks quietly when Quinn flicks her eyes up at her.

Quinn turns to look at Santana, she hadn't caught Charlie and Santana making out on the sofa, or in a various state of undress, for the past month. She actually hadn't _seen _her twin, in roughly the same amount of time, and Charlie wasn't even calling to see how she was doing. Santana on the other hand had been far more _cutting _in her words than she usually was, which could only mean one thing. "They broke up." Which could only mean Charlie had probably murdered someone again. She didn't want to figure it out and she had already promised herself she wasn't getting involved.

"But they looked so good together," Rachel began frowning and moved to get up to comfort Santana, or something. She immediately feels a firm grip on her wrist and she turns to look at Quinn, who shakes her head. "Quinn—"

"I've been here before trust me when I say it's _best_ not to get involved." Quinn said firmly, truthfully, she was more than surprised that Sam hadn't asked for some reprieve. Santana was just burying herself in work, and Charlie's name seemed to be off-limits. She wasn't asking questions.

"_Quinn_, she's clearly hurting. I know you've said I give excellent _hugs_—"

"Touch me and I will end you," Santana spoke up causing Rachel to jump and look at her. "I do not need a _hobbit _hugging me."

Quinn tugged on Rachel's hand pulling her back into her seat, Santana was being nice, which meant that this conversation could get a whole lot meaner. "What are you working on?"

"Since my mom's office is still in disarray, I'm trying to get an internship that will look good on my application to The University of Chicago Law School, and Northwestern, my mom's asking a few people for favors for me. But I need to finish making my cover letter and updating my resume for her."

"Chicago? Why not just stay in Columbia?" Quinn frowned.

"Because I plan on working in Chicago, it makes sense to go to a school in _Chicago_. Interning at one of the bigger firms and making connections," Santana said with a shrug. New York had been fun but her home was in Chicago.

Quinn narrowed her eyes for a moment before nodding. She was _tempted _to ask if Charlie had anything to do with this decision but they were broken up. And they would probably divide up Chicago so they could both live in the city without running into each other. Of course, Santana seemed to be ignoring the fact that their bond would make living in the same city without seeing each other unbearable, but again she wasn't getting involved in this latest clusterfuck.

"I could never imagine not living in New York, I mean you two are _lucky_ you grew up in Chicago, but the New York Broadway—"

"Stop talking," Santana interrupts. "I don't _actually_ care."

Quinn bit the inside of her cheek hard, to stop herself from snorting and laughing at Rachel's scandalized look, it was adorable and she knew she was going to hear about how annoying Santana was. She _lived _with Santana, she _knew _how annoying Santana could be. Santana was still her best friend though. Her phone rings and she picks it up without checking it.

'_Hey Lucy_.'

Quinn nearly throws her phone across the room as she feels the blood in her veins turn to ice. She shivers and swallows, struggling to find the words to say. He was _supposed _to be in jail and sure he had attempted to call her, but she had never accepted the collect calls from prison.

'_I'm free Lucy. They let me go, I'll be seeing you soon_.'

Quinn ends the call immediately and tosses her phone onto the table, swallowing. She needed a _new _number. They _needed_ to move, she begins to panic, feeling her heart race pick up, and the room start to spin. She was certain that Rachel and Santana were still bickering but she couldn't hear them, all she could hear was her heartbeat pounding in her ears.

"Quinn?"

She didn't know what he wanted, but the violence, the treating her like she was just a dumb stupid little child—she couldn't handle it. She couldn't go back to being terrified again.

"_Quinn_!"

Quinn blinks and nearly shoves the person who touched her only to realize that it was Rachel with concern on her features. "I—"

"Are you okay? Who was on the phone Quinn?" Rachel asks watching as Santana moves towards her as well concern etched on her features.

"I—I need to call Charlie," Quinn mumbles, under her breath. Not caring if Santana chose to freak out, she couldn't _deal _with Santana banning Charlie's name in the building. She's certain she can hear Santana suck in a deep breath at the mention of her twin but she didn't _care_. She didn't doubt that Russell would come for her, he would go after Charlie.

Rachel looks over at Santana, who shrugs and she reaches and gently pushes Quinn's phone towards her, as she gently rubs Quinn's back. "It'll be okay," she mumbles.

Quinn swallows hoping that Charlie would pick up for her, it had been a month of radio silence and she wasn't quite sure how her twin was taking the recent breakup, but since Sam hadn't called her in panic to calm Charlie down, she was praying that Charlie was taking this breakup like an adult. The phone rings once, then twice and finally a third time before her twin picks it up.

'_Is Santana okay?_'

Quinn flicks her eyes to Santana, and nods, before realizing that Charlie couldn't see her. "Yes. Santana's fine," she says ignoring the pointed look that Santana gives her. "I'm calling because he's free. Russell's free."

~O~

Sam was honestly impressed, sure Charlie had been down for the past month but she seemed okay. He wasn't _stupid_, and even though Charlie hadn't said anything, he knew she wasn't flying off to New York anymore. Which of course meant that Santana had broken up with Charlie once again, probably because of the shitshow that was the District Attorney's office, and the police department. He personally couldn't believe Charlie hadn't been more precise in her strike but he understood her reasoning.

At the very least Charlie was still attending her anger management classes, and more importantly she wasn't using her powers heavily at all, which was probably why her mood hadn't taken a turn for the worse. He relaxes in his office occasionally looking up from it to look across the hall to Charlie's. This was either the calm before the proverbial storm, or Charlie's anger management classes were going extremely well. He really hoped that it was the latter. Charlie was only getting more powerful and he was very aware that she wasn't a _good _person, she'd never put on the cape and cowl and become the hero the world needed.

He frowns when he notices a rather large man in an ill-fitted suit looking around like he was lost and shakes his head. Probably another meeting with an investor, more and more people were trying to join their start-up especially now that they were moving into other states. His father had mentioned something about Amazon that had the staff ecstatic, he just hoped that Charlie kept it together until it was over. But still it was better be polite and help out. He gets up and goes to meet the man, "Is there anything I can help you with?"

The man frowns sizing him up for a moment before shrugging his shoulders. "I'm looking for the owner's office." He tilts his head slightly and spots the nameplate on the door. "Never mind I see it."

Sam frowns and trails the man, there was something off about him. Most of the people who were investors at least didn't look like they were in second hand suits. "Do you have business with Charlie?"

The man frowns again, "You could say that," he says as he reaches for the handle of the door and opens it, not even bothering to knock on the door.

"You can't just—" Sam begins horrified, this could be some lunatic that was going to make the biggest mistake of his life if he attacked Charlie.

"You thought I was the _stupid _one," Charlie says after a tense moment. "If you want money or a place to live, go and ask Frannie for a handout." Charlie notices Sam's confused look and sighs, "Sam, this is Russell, he was in jail for _grand larceny_ or something. Given by how much weight he's lost I'm guessing he was someone's bitch in prison. How'd it feel to be the one getting your _ass _kicked by someone bigger than you?" Charlie sneered at him. She was expecting anger from her father, something dark and ugly, but he only smiles and it unnerves her.

"I don't _need _your money. Prison changes you, and I came to say that I'm sorry that I was such a terrible father. After your mother died, I just got soaked up in my misery—I used you as a punching bag and I hope you can forgive me. I want my family back, I'm hoping we can be a family."

Charlie stared at him, her lips curling in disgust, he was up to something and she didn't care to know what it was. "I changed my mind, I'll give you all the money in my wallet if you go away and you stay the fuck away from me and Quinn." For a moment she can see him for what he is, nothing more than a pathetic broken old man. She can see the anger stretch across his face and his muscles tense, and she knows that _he _hasn't changed one bit, but he smiles at her and it's quite possible he's gotten _smarter_.

"I just want my family back and I hope one day I can earn your forgiveness. I just came to say that Charlie. I've changed, I've found the Lord our saviour," with that Russell turns and leaves, brushing past Sam who looks absolutely uncomfortable. He smiles at him. "Have a blessed day."

Charlie licks her dry lips and raises her hand only for Sam to step in front of her, "_Charlie_."

Charlie closes her palms and places them firmly on her desk, she didn't need the movement, she didn't _need_ anything she could just think of a hole appearing in her father's heart and Russell would be dead. But she doesn't she had promised Santana that she wouldn't kill anymore. "He's not allowed in the building, tell security that. He's not allowed anywhere near me."

"Okay, I will—are you going to be okay?" There was concern on his features, she'd been close to murdering her father in front of him. Using her abilities in public, in the _office _no-less.

Charlie tapped her fingers on her desk, "Yes," she lied. "I'm going to be fine."

Sam hesitates for a moment, Charlie was shaken and he was unsure if he should leave her alone. "You know you can talk to me about this if you want?"

Charlie raises a brow, "Since when were we friends?"

Sam rolled his eyes, "Since high school and you practically forced me to teach you how to control your abilities. I'm your friend Charlie, I've kept your secrets and while I can't promise that I'll agree with everything you do, I promise that I'm going to be honest with you and I hope that you will be honest with me."

Charlie stares at him for a moment, "I'll be fine," she says after a moment. "I will be," she repeats.

"Okay," Sam said, he would give her space until she was ready to talk.


	38. Part 02: Chapter 37

Charlie _really_ needed a cigarette. She hadn't one in months. She hadn't _wanted_ one in months, but right now the craving was back with a vengeance. She inhales deeply taking a shaky breath, Santana hadn't _wanted_ her to smoke—but Santana wasn't going to come back this time. She had managed to royally fuck up the only thing that had been worth living for.

Charlie inhales sharply, suddenly feeling the bed shift slightly and a pair of arms wrap around her chest. Her latest mistake. Santana wasn't _coming _back, but this still felt like a mistake.

"You okay?"

Charlie pulls her head away sharply, not enjoying the hot breath tickling her neck, or being touched for that matter. "Get out." She can feel the woman tense up beside her and pull away like she'd been slapped.

"Are you being serious right now?"

Charlie turns her head and gives the woman a dull look. She didn't know why she would suggest that if it _wasn't _the case. "Yes."

"Fine—whatever, you weren't even that good of a lay anyway," the woman snaps at her getting up.

Charlie watches her make a grab for her discarded clothes. That had never been Santana's experience, hell it even been Dani's experience. But she makes no attempt to defend herself she just wanted this woman gone, even though she knew it would do nothing for the guilt and self-loathing she felt. She slides out of bed and grabs her boy shorts and slips them on as the woman storms out. The last thing she wanted was a scene.

For her part it doesn't take the woman long to actually exit her apartment, and for a brief moment she's relieved, there had been no scene, and she makes her way to see if she can find a pack of cigarettes, to at least scratch the itch. Opening drawers and cupboards, she can feel her irritation slowly begin to bubble over as she slams each drawer and cupboard closed.

She slams her hands onto the counter, ignoring the explosion of sound, that comes from the cupboards which are suddenly ripped from their resting place. She slams her hands down again and all of Quinn's fancy wine glasses come tumbling down. She can feel the tears burning her eyes as she continues to just slam her hand down over and over again.

"Fuck!"

The granite countertops crack finally and her fridge door is ripped open, the contents begin to hit the ground.

"_Fuck_!" Charlie shouts again before twisting around, as the furniture begins to rattle. She was losing control of her abilities but she didn't know how to stop them. '_Fuck_," she mumbles finally sliding to the ground. Santana wasn't going to come back. And she was now stuck with this hole that she knew she wouldn't be able to fill. There wouldn't _be _a third chance, and she would be alone. She'd be like this _forever_. Because no one could replace her, sex didn't feel good if it wasn't with her.

Going to work felt meaningless most days, because she had done it so she could stand beside Santana. Every aspect of her life had revolved around her. Deep-dish pizza seemed stupid because she couldn't argue about it with Santana.

Maybe everyone was right about her. That she was _broken_, damaged goods and it would probably be best for Santana if she didn't have to deal with it. No amount of therapy, no number of drugs was going to change the fact that the only time she _felt _something, when she felt normal was when she was with Santana. Sure, she had felt anger when Quinn had been bullied back in school, grief when her mother died, but nothing quite as _numbing _and yet as _painful_ as this. She hadn't felt guilty for helping Dani, she _still _didn't feel anything about it. She would have done the same for Santana in a heartbeat without a second thought, she'd do the same for Quinn.

Charlie licks her lips and looks at the carnage that is her kitchen and swallows. She didn't _feel _anything about this either. Maybe she was far more broken than she thought. The hole would only get bigger, as the days went by, and she cursed her abilities. She couldn't even move on if she'd tried. Quinn had suggested that she was bound to Santana, that what had been done to them was what made their bond so strong. She'd scoffed at it back then, but she'd gone nearly two years without Santana and it hadn't been pleasant. The rest of her life would probably suck just as much.

Charlie opens her hands, slightly and looks at her palms noting the fingernail marks that were embedded in her palm. She swallows and focuses for a moment creating a small ball of darkness. That's what she was, just a small black hole of darkness. Maybe that's why she'd gotten her abilities. She lets the ball roll onto the tip of her finger for a moment before slamming her hand against her cupboards which explode, splintering into pieces of wood and metal.

"Fuck," she whispers again before getting up and stumbling towards her bed, not noticing that there was now currently a dime-sized hole in her cupboard that was connected to the void. It's only there for a moment before it flickers away.

~O~

Susan Rodham Sylvester reached for her phone, it didn't matter that it was two in the morning, when her phone rang especially this late, she knew it was important. "It's Sue," she says answering it as she sits up in her bed looking over at her partner in bed. He was still sleeping—of course he was Mario had always been a sound sleeper. She listens briefly, and inhales sharply. "Are they certain this time? They've had multiple false alarms—"

Sue frowned she _hated _being interrupted, but he was her _boss_, and she was being forced to listen to him. "Well we assumed that the area was a weak point between our dimensions, and if it's managed to open back up again it would be wise to send a team to secure it. We can rebuild the facility and try again, taking more safety precautions then we did before. It would be bad if the Russians or the Chinese found out about this." She listens for a few moments longer before nodding. "I'll book a flight down to Indiana tomorrow and start overseeing the operations. Of course, we'll have to increase our safety standards. It was an incredible pain to clean up last time and we still don't know what went wrong." She listens and makes a few affirmative noises before ending the call.

"What was that about?"

Sue flicks her eyes to her husband for a moment before smiling at him, "That was the boss, I've got to head down to Indiana tomorrow, I might be there for a week or two."

"Okay," Mario yawned before rolling over.

**Sue watched him for a moment, waiting until his breathing evened out before slowly laying back down herself. With a new singularity appearing at the old broken-down prison, it would be time to recoup their losses from the last project. It had been an expensive fix, scientists had gone missing, they had needed to pay off politicians to not look to hard. There was a part of her that felt guilty, but she had done all this in service to her country.**


	39. Part 02: Chapter 38

"I'll have another Goose Island IPA," Santana said reaching for her purse to pull out some cash. She glances behind her for a moment, watching as the other interns laughed and bitched about their menial labor filing papers and getting coffee for the named partners. It wasn't what she wanted to be doing but while the district attorney's office was still recovering from Charlie's stupid stunt, she had been forced to take an internship at one of the bigger firms.

"I'll have what she's having."

Santana exhales slowly, ready to tell the woman who had moved to sit beside her that she wasn't interested. She turns her head slightly, but the words die in her throat, which she clears after what seemed like an awkward amount of time. She turns to the bartender, "Put it on my tab."

The woman raises a perfectly manicured brow and looks at her, amusement dancing on her features. "It's been awhile since _anyone _has bought me a drink." The woman watches as the beer is pushed towards her and she takes a sip. "Francesca," she says after a moment introducing herself.

"Santana." It had been a while, since she had attempted to seduce anyone, and this woman was clearly someone cultured and worldly. At least she carried herself that way, though it could just be because she was clearly older. It really made no difference to her.

"So what law firm do you belong to?" Frannie asks.

"I'm just an intern at Howell and Del Monico." Upon seeing the unimpressed look on Francesca's face Santana flushed a deep red, it wasn't the _best _law-firm in the city, she knew that. "I had an internship at the district attorney's office lined up—but given the situation in their offices, that got cancelled for this summer."

Frannie tilts her head slightly, her lips twisting slightly into a grimace. "One would think that with the chaos that they are still facing, that they could use a _massive _influx of interns, trying to salvage as many cases as they could."

"They wanted people with experience and the investigation is still ongoing. How do you know so much about what's going on in the DA's office? Are you a defense attorney?"

"God _no_, I'm a corporate lawyer. I simply care because they had a case on the docket that was important to me and they _bungled it_, so at this moment I am furious with them," Frannie answered honestly.

Santana grimaced, Charlie's actions had far-reaching consequences. "I'm sorry. I know that doesn't mean much, but I'm sorry that someone stole all the evidence in that locker and that screwed with your case," Santana says fiddling with the beer in front of her. "I'm surprised to see a corporate lawyer _here_, I mean at this hour. Aren't you guys overworked, trying to make a lot of money for your firm?"

"You really have no idea what a corporate lawyer does do you?" Frannie says the amused smile back on her face as she takes another sip of her beer.

Santana clears her throat, she was making a fool of herself. "I mean I know that you probably counsel clients and handle business transactions, review contracts and deal with aspects of business, such as mergers and acquisitions, but that seems like it's a lot of busy work."

Frannie's brow quirks, she was smarter than she looked, and she looked intelligent enough. Still it was impressive. "Perhaps I was that busy when I was nothing more than a first-year associate. But I'm no longer a first-year associate. I just made junior partner, and I thought a drink at the bar and a night with a beautiful woman was warranted before I focus on my next goal of becoming a senior partner."

Santana bites the inside of her cheek, maybe it meant that she was _finally_ over Charlie and the drama that came around her, but she could feel that spark of attraction between them. Which meant that Quinn's hypothesis about their bond was a crock of shit. "I'm down to help you celebrate," she winces at how lame the words sound but Frannie laughs and she smiles hoping that it meant that they were still on.

Frannie finishes her beer, and nods at the bartender pulling out a hundred-dollar bill, "We're closing up for the night, come on Santana."

~O~

"Did you sleep with my sister again?"

Santana frowned and looked up at Quinn who was staring at her, "I'm not allowed to be _happy_ without Charlie being involved somehow?"

"You're allowed to be _happy_, I just need to know if Charlie's happy while you're happy and you two are going to start using every surface in this apartment as your own personal bed again."

Santana went back to looking at the LSAT notes that Frannie had given her, they were detailed and broke things down for her in such a simple way. "I'm not sleeping with your sister, I have a girlfriend, who _isn't _Charlie. You owe me a hundred dollars by the way."

Quinn frowned, Santana had gone out with other people before but she had never sounded enamoured. "You weren't part of the _bet_ between Rachel and I if you were going to hook up with my sister or not. Who is she?"

Santana sighed and tossed her highlighter at Quinn, this was _none _of her business as far as she was concerned. "Look, you _agreed to_—"

"I'm not going to report back to Charlie Santana, I'm actually curious who she is. We're best friends, right? We're supposed to tell each other these things, and since you're _no _longer sleeping with my sister, I can hear _details_ without wanting to vomit," Quinn said pulling up a chair.

"You seem to think I want the details of what I can only imagine is a very _vanilla_ sex life between you and Rachel," Santana retorted.

"Who said my sex-life with Rachel was _vanilla_?" Quinn wrinkled her nose at the very thought.

Santana raised a brow, "You do realize that doing it in another position other than missionary isn't considered _non-vanilla _right—I'm not having this conversation with you. I don't want to know how hobbits have sex." She smirks when Quinn looks slightly annoyed. "She's not a murderer, she's not a _criminal_, I don't have this _complicated_ history with her. She's _normal_, our relationship is _healthy_. She's everything that Charlie isn't."

Quinn raises a brow; this woman must have _really_ done a number on Santana if she was willing to throw Charlie under the bus. The sex must have been _amazing_. "What's her name."

"Francesca—I mean she's older but only by a few years ad _fuck_, it's like being with an _adult_. We don't argue over which state is better, we talk about super important things, and it just feels right—" Santana pauses when she realizes that Quinn has a frown on her face. "What?"

"I have a sister named Francesca—"

"Her last name isn't _Fabray_. Your whole stupid theory about how me and Charlie are going to end up together because of what they did to us is _bullshit_, and I can't be living my _life _by what they did to me. She's a step in the right direction, away from Charlie. I can finally put that chapter in my life behind me, I can finally grow Quinn."

Quinn licks her lips for a moment, Santana sounded like she _needed _this relationship to move on. "Okay."

Santana frowns slightly, "I love your sister, I shouldn't. I know she's _bad _for me, but there are things that only _she _gets. Only she feels, we're like that in that regard. She saved me—we saved each other, and I will always love her but we can't _be together_."

"I'm not asking you to explain yourself to me Santana. I get it. I _do _get it, I just hope Charlie can find someone too. Sam says she's still going to her anger management classes, and she's still seeing someone. So, I'm actually _super _happy for you, because if you can find someone that means she can find someone." Quinn said with a smile.

Santana nods slowly, and shrugs her shoulders, she wasn't going to _feel_ guilty because she had moved on. She smirks slowly, "She does this thing with her tongue Quinn—_fuck_ it feels so fucking good. Best thing in the world."


	40. Part 03: Chapter 39

Santana grimaced as she brought a tissue to her lips as she coughed, hard. Pulling the tissue away, she didn't even need to look at the tissue to know that it was dotted with blood. She could taste the bitter iron taste in her mouth, and she could feel her insides twisting and tearing. It felt like someone was taking a cheese grater to her intestines. She'd already been out sick for a week, but the doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong. Everything was _normal_. She didn't have TB, or pneumonia, all of her blood tests, the MRI's, CT scans every single test, including the blood tests had been negative.

Everyday was worse than the last one and she felt like she was dying. Which was the only reason she was _here_. Three years, she'd managed to keep away. She'd graduated from Columbia and had headed to the University of Chicago, where she was doing rather well. All without seeing Charlie. As far as she _knew_ this was all on Charlie, and she _needed_ Charlie to stop whatever she was doing.

The elevator dings and almost immediately she feels some relief, it's brief before the pain in her insides comes back with a vengeance and she places her hand on a wall to steady herself. Before holding her head up and looking at Charlie's main offices. Charlie _clearly_ hadn't grown up and it looked like one of those tech firms you would see on television, with a basketball net and a foosball table and everything.

"Excuse me do you need anything?"

Santana looks up at the secretary who had approached her, a suspicious look on her face. She glances at the name tag. "I'm here to see Charlie."

"Do you have an appointment?"

"Look. _Marley_, I'm going to be extremely helpful to you because you're _new_—"

"I've been here for two years."

"So, _new_. I have a standing appointment with Charlie. The last person who stopped me from seeing her when I _wanted_ too was fired. Now you can call security and then I'll be forced to make a scene and I'm sure Charlie will exit her office to see what's going on she'll see me being harassed by some rent-a-cop and then I assume she'll get annoyed and fire you, and those cops."

"What I know, is that if I let anyone off the street to see the CEO of a fortune company just because they _threatened _me. I'd be out of a job as well." Marley snaps back. She takes a breath, "I'll call and ask her, may I have a name?"

Santana forced a smile onto her face, "Santana Lopez." Marley nodded and headed back to her desk to call ahead. The elevator's ding and she turns around to look at it, she'd recognize the _shitty_ haircut and trouty lips anywhere. "Sam."

Sam blinks, "Santana?" He rubs his eyes, it had been radio silence on her end for years. It would _also_ quite possibly send Charlie on a tailspin. "You can't be—are you okay?"

"No. I need to see her, as soon as possible."

Sam hesitated, before nodding. Charlie would murder him if he didn't give Santana the VIP treatment. "Okay, I'll walk you to her." He offers his arm to help her, because Santana looked like she was about to keel over any moment. "How are things going up in New York?"

"I've been in Chicago for the past two, going to law school. If you want to know about Quinn, which I'm guessing you do. She's still dating Rachel and it's _still_ weird as _fuck_."

"I'm _over _Quinn, I have a girlfriend now."

"Is she a Quinn clone?"

"Opposite."

"A hairy black man?"

"What? No. I'm not gay!"

"Those lips say otherwise."

Sam glared at her, "This is why we don't talk."

Santana smirked at him, "Right. _This _is why we don't talk," she shakes her head and looks at Charlie's office, each step towards her made her feel markedly better. She untangles herself from Sam's arm the moment she gets to Charlie's door and without bothering to knock enters it. Closing the door behind her, making sure that it was in Sam's face.

Charlie looks up from where she's eating her Chicago style pizza and studies Santana for a moment before going back to eating her pizza.

Santana blinks. The reaction hadn't been what she'd expected every single time she'd been back Charlie had always been more than happy to see her. It's baffling and seeing her _ex_-girlfriend is confusing enough without Charlie being her usual self.

"We're both aware I knew you were coming the moment you were two blocks away." Charlie said before taking another bite. She chews rapidly. "I can't read your mind Santana, why are you here?"

Santana scowls, "You _know _why I'm here."

"I _really_ don't, I've been busy. Sam keeps me busy. If you're here to accuse me of a crime, I haven't done that in years." Charlie says as she takes a sip of her drink. Santana had made it clear that she didn't want her and even though it _hurt_, she had gone out of her way to respect her. To _respect that_. "Also, can you _not _threaten my secretaries?"

"_Bullshit_." Santana snaps at Charlie, maybe she wasn't dumping toxic waste in the void, but she _needed_ to stop. "You're doing something, you _have _to be. You know I can feel it when you're sucking things up, so whatever, you're up to you need to _stop_. I'm getting _sick_. Like actual sick not, Charlie decided to make a car disappear so now I can't eat for a few hours."

Charlie frowns, concern flitting across her face. "Santana, I _haven't _used my abilities in _years_. They put me in a—_bad _place if I use them. For now, I'm _clean_."

"Don't _lie _to me." If this wasn't _Charlie's _doing, then there was something that was wrong with her. Maybe it was what they had done to her finally coming back to bite her in the ass. They had used radiation, maybe it was _cancer_."

"I have _never_ lied to you Santana." Charlie frowns finally pushing her pizza away and going to Santana.

"Then why do I _feel _better around—" Santana grabs her tissue paper and coughs into it. The bitter metallic taste coming back as her insides quake and she leans forward to grab Charlie's desk to keep from falling over. Charlie was by her side in second and had her arms around her. The closeness and the warmth that radiated off her made her feel better, only for a few seconds before she pushed Charlie away. "I have a girlfriend."

"Okay? When did this start?" Charlie asked, reaching to touch Santana's forehead. She was rewarded with Santana smacking her hand away weakly. She wasn't _feverish_ by any means.

"Off and on for the past year Charlie, it just got _really _bad two weeks ago. They've done tests, hundreds of them and no one can tell what's wrong with me. That's why I'm here, if you're _doing _anything—"

"I'm _not_." Charlie swears. "I'm _not_. The company is doing _well_. Like really well, like Amazon might buy me out and I'll be set for _life _well. I don't have a reason to be going off in the middle of the night doing anything illegal. Sam keeps me busy working out, going to counselling for my 'addiction'. I haven't done anything that you'd disprove of."

There had been reports in the paper lately about Amazon sniffing around Charlie's company. It had been accompanied by some comments from her parents about how she wouldn't have had to work a day in her life, if she and Charlie got back together again. She _knew _her parents didn't mean, and she _knew _they still liked Charlie for her, but none of that mattered. She was _dying, _and Charlie quite possibly wasn't responsible. "Then I'm actually dying?"

"I'll fix it," Charlie said.

"I don't think you can fix it. There's no _fixing it_," She was going to _die_. "I need to go home."

"I'll take you—"

"I don't think my girlfriend would approve. She doesn't even _know _I'm here," Santana admits. Neither did her _parents_.

Charlie was quiet for a moment, "Sam will call a car for you, it'll take you anywhere. If you _need_ anything—"

"I need to _get better_." Santana snaps. "I just want to get better. They've already taken so much from me, if I have to deal with cancer on top of everything else? _Fuck_. They did the same thing to you and you're _fine_." Santana shakes her head. This had been a mistake coming to Charlie had been a mistake and even though she felt better than she had in weeks, Charlie still wasn't going to be able to cure her.

Charlie frowns and watches as Santana pulls herself up and walks out, narrowing her eyes slightly. She wouldn't have let Santana out of her sight, but she moves to open the door for her and looks at Sam. "Make sure she gets home."

**Sam studies her for a moment before giving her a quick nod and Charlie closes and locks her door. She immediately goes back to her pizza and takes a sip of her drink before leaning back. Just a quick peak, it would probably set her back a few weeks. But she'd ****_just _****been near Santana, she'd be fine. She ****_had _****too. She waves her hand slightly creating a small opening, immediately feeling her emotions starting to shift but she takes a breath and takes a quick look. She's used to the eternal darkness of the singularity. She'd learned to navigate it back when she was still using her abilities, her eyes had grown used to it, but this time. It was different. This time there wasn't eternal darkness, if she squinted she was ****_sure _****she saw light. The last time she'd seen ****_light_****in the void was— Charlie's body goes rigid and she immediately yanks herself back to reality. The smart thing to do would be to tell Santana of what she'd found, but Santana had made it clear she wasn't ****_welcome _****back in her life. Charlie inhales slowly, no wonder Santana was sick. But she was going to deal with, the only way she knew, and she was finally going to get some answers.**


	41. Part 03: Chapter 40

"Maybe it was some viral thing that knocked you on your ass for a few weeks," Miguel said as he ran a hand on the underside of Santana's jaw and chin, checking to see if there was any inflammation in her lymph nodes. It had been two days of Santana feeling _remarkably _better and looking much better. There had been no more coughing up blood, there hadn't been any more restless nights.

Santana gently pulls away from her father and goes back to eating her breakfast, for the past few weeks her appetite had been non-existent. "I've got a meeting with the school today, and then I'm going to see Francesca."

Maribel frowned as she pushed more toast onto Santana's plate, she'd lost weight in the past two weeks and she didn't look _healthy_. "I'm still disappointed that she wasn't by your side."

"Francesca's _busy_ and she's got this weird thing about germs, like if this was a viral thing, she could have gotten sick. I told her to stay away."

Maribel hummed, "I'm a busy person, and your father's busy and if he was on his ass like you were going to take numerous tests, I wouldn't have left his side for a moment, even if I _had_ a massive court case."

Santana rolled her eyes, "Don't say it."

"Say what?" Maribel asked innocently, staring at her daughter.

"Don't _talk _to me about Charlie."

"I'm not saying that you should go back and date Charlie, even though I'm sure if you asked she'd say yes—" Maribel began.

"_Maribel,_" Miguel grunted.

"I'm saying you need someone to date who is as _devoted _as Charlie was to you. I don't think Charlie would have left your side for a moment, in fact I'm surprised she didn't show up."

Santana frowned, "Charlie has moved on, and even if she hadn't I don't think I _need_ someone taking care of me," Santana grumbled stuffing some more toast into her mouth and drinking some of her orange juice. She was beginning to feel like her old self and she had to wonder if Charlie did have something to do with it. "She knows that I have a girlfriend."

"One that you haven't introduced to your _parents_ or friends," Miguel added. "Have you even met her family or friends yet?"

"Et tu Papi?" Santana frowned, "Well, she did invite me to meet her sister and her girlfriend, who are coming to town in a couple of weeks. Francesca's just a private person is all, and she's not exactly close with her family, and that's okay. Look if it makes you feel better, I'll set something up after her massive court case okay? She doesn't need to stress about meeting the parents and work." She frowned as her parents exchanged looks. "Oh, come on. I think that's fair!"

"It is fair. I know you like this woman a lot Santana, but I just feel that maybe you need to take a step back. I mean I know you haven't had anything _serious _since Charlie, but you've been dating for two years. Charlie managed to get to six months and then she was a fixture in our house. And we _liked _Charlie, despite the fact that we caught her in her underwear more times than we could count."

Santana's cheeks flushed at the memory, "Well—it wasn't her fault—"

"Of course, it wasn't," Maribel said with a shrug. "We were just happy that you were going through _normal_ things after being kidnapped. But Charlie seemed to understand that more than anything, she was the one who you called after you had nightmares, and she listened or just showed up at three am in the morning and snuck into your bedroom. We did think it was a bit intense for your age, but it was what it was, and given what you went through we were perhaps a bit more permissive then we should have been. But Charlie was _good _for you, even Emma said so. But your nightmares are back, I hear you up at three am in the morning, moving around your room pacing. You're not calling Francesca—does she even know?"

"Of course, she does," Santana said. "She knows who I am, and what I've been through, but Francesca's not like Charlie. And yeah, she's rough around the edges but she's a good _person_. And I need someone who is _not _Charlie." Santana frowns, struggling to find the right words. "When you meet her, that's just _who _she is. With Charlie—you don't know her like I do, and what you see isn't really what's going on with her."

"Did she _hurt you_?" Maribel frowned, it would make sense. Santana had talked about how Charlie was in anger management classes.

"She broke my heart _twice_," Santana says with a wave of her hand. There was stuff about Charlie that she _wished _she could tell her parents, things that she wished they _knew _so they would understand why she broke up with her. Though they would probably fall in love with her more. "I'll set up _dinner_ with Francesca, so don't worry about it. I'll see when she's free."

~O~

Sam knocked on Charlie's apartment door, it had been nearly three days since Charlie had been into the office, and he was growing worried about her. Charlie had been doing so well for the past three years, her moods were stable so long as she didn't use her abilities. He frowns slightly when Charlie doesn't open the door and grabs his spare key. Quinn had given it to him for emergencies, and as far as he was concerned this was an _emergency_.

The door swings open and he grimaces at the bloody handprint that's on the white kitchen counters. He _hoped_ and prayed that Charlie wasn't torturing some poor asshole. He was certain that they were passed this. "Charlie?" He prompts again following the trail of blood to Charlie's bedroom and into the bathroom that was attached. He immediately clasps his hands over his eyes, when he sees Charlie naked in the tub, her shoulder was roughly bandaged, though it looked like blood was still seeping out of it. He pulls his hands free, "Shit, _Charlie_."

Charlie jerks up her good arm raising up slightly as she looks at Sam for a moment, "Just you," she mumbles. "Go away Sam." She lets out a long hiss as she adjusts her arm.

"No," Sam says forcibly. "I'm not just going to _leave_. What _happened_? We're _friends_, I'm not going to tell anyone. _Fuck_ no one would believe me anyway." He looks at the laptop that's just sitting on the counter and the bloody tweezers that had been tossed there. "Were you shot? Were you doing something _illegal_ again?"

"Santana was sick, so _I fixed it_."

"What happened?" Sam insisted as he opened his phone, he needed to find a doctor that wouldn't ask questions. But as far as he knew the only person who had connections to such information was Dani Harper. And they had _just _gotten her out of Charlie's life. But Charlie would probably die of an infection before she died of blood loss. He immediately sends her a text to see what she knew. He flicks her in the forehead, causing her to glare at him. "Tell me."

She was much too tired to deal with Sam's incessant bitching at her, "Santana was getting sick, so I took a _look_, it was just supposed to be a small look, but they _rebuilt_ it. They rebuilt it, and there were teenagers and _children_ there. I saw it, and I didn't even know I got shot until I got home."

"Did you rescue them?" Sam asks frowning at this. "The kids and teenagers did you—"

"_Yes_. Told them not to tell anyone. I don't need the government coming after me, my face was covered the entire time. Santana can never know."

Sam swallowed, "And the scientists and guards?"

"Sam." Charlie prompts. Santana had left her, and if she found out now, there wouldn't _be _any coming back. It was why she hadn't gone to her to begin with. Santana had _moved on_, and she was happy. She wanted to put all this horribleness behind her, but they would keep on doing it until she stopped them. She'd let it go at Santana's behest all those years ago, but if they were going to keep doing this then she was going to have to keep going after them.

Sam didn't say anything right away. "So, you're like _Moon_ Knight or the Punisher—"

Charlie rolled her eyes, this wasn't a comic book. This was her _life. _"Shut up Sam."

**"****I'll have the comics on your desk when you get back but let's get you to a ****_doctor_****. I mean I hear that there are medical students and like paramedics that sell their services to gang members." Sam said, he paused for a moment. It would be better to do it ****_here_****. "I'll make some calls. Stay here."**


	42. Part 03: Chapter 41

"Okay, there is something you need to know about Frannie," Quinn said, stopping Rachel before they entered the restaurant. "She's a _bitch_. Like I can't stress this enough. It's just who she is. The moment she got a full-ride scholarship to Dartmouth, she _abandoned_ us. She wasn't really there when our mother died, she didn't come back and it's also important not to—"

"Bring up Charlie," Rachel rolled her eyes, "You've told me this a million times Quinn. Charlie and Frannie can't stand each other."

Quinn studied Rachel for a moment, she didn't quite understand. She'd met Hiram and Leroy, and she could feel the love and adoration that they had for their daughter. "I'm sorry, in advance. My family is weird—"

"Quinn, it's okay. I get that you're feeling a bit self-conscious about your family, but I like Charlie. When she isn't completely focused on Santana, she's funny and kind. I'm sure Frannie will be—"

"A bitch."

"Well, I assure you not everyone in my family is perfect," Rachel laughs, holding onto Quinn's arm. "Are you sure Charlie can't squeeze us in, it's been forever since I've seen her."

Quinn narrowed her eyes slightly and nudged Rachel, "You're just hoping that Charlie walks around in her underwear again, so you can gawk at her."

Rachel scoffed at Quinn's assertion, "You're _clearly _the more attractive twin Quinn, but Charlie's _abs_—" She laughs when Quinn shoves her a bit. "I'm _joking_," she promises, and she was. Charlie as far as she was concerned was Santana's, even if Santana didn't want her right now and even though Santana was a pain in her ass most nights, Santana was still Quinn's best friend, for reasons that she didn't quite understand.

"There she is," Quinn said pointing to a woman with long blonde hair.

Rachel blinked and then looked at Quinn stopping her in her tracks, "Are _all _your siblings attractive?" She whispers.

Quinn rolled her eyes, "Should I be worried about how you're lusting over all my siblings?"

Rachel flashed Quinn a smile, "Probably, but I choose you over them. You're the normal one remember?"

Quinn scoffed, that was probably code for boring one, but she'd take it. She takes Rachel's hand in hers and heads to the table, "Frannie."

Frannie looks up from the menu at her younger sister for a moment, "Quinn. Quinn's girlfriend."

"Rachel Berry, I'm in a little off-Broadway—"

"Please, you know I don't care," Frannie said bluntly.

Rachel blinked, and turned to Quinn who shrugged her shoulders. "See. I told you. Total _bitch_." With that said Quinn pulls out a chair for Rachel. "You _promised me_ you'd be nice Frannie."

"I am being _nice;_ this restaurant has excellent vegetarian options. See, I'm making an effort." Frannie said going back to look at her menu.

"I did _warn _you," Quinn muttered to Rachel as she took a seat of her own, pausing there were _four _chairs at the table. "Did you invite Charlie?"

"I don't associate with psychopathic _criminals_. I have to deal with our father being out and about. I can't be seen dealing with our dear sister either. No, I invited my girlfriend to this. For the _express_ purpose of proving that people _like me_ for who I am."

"You have a girlfriend? Was she dropped on the head as a child?" Quinn asked smirking when Frannie flashed her annoyed look.

"_Quinn_, I for one am excited to have this double date with you Frannie," Rachel said with a smile.

Frannie looked up, "Does she _always_ kiss ass?"

"No, I simply have _manners_, something that you should have learned." Rachel snaps back.

"She's right," Quinn said. "I get it, you enjoy being a _bitch_, but there's no way that your girlfriend finds this version of you _attractive._"

Frannie frowned ready to retort when a smile flits across her face and she stands up, "You're late."

"I'm _always_ late."

Quinn froze in her seat, Santana had _promised _her that she wasn't dating Frannie. She _knew _she should have looked into it, but Santana had been happy and that's all she wanted for her. She turns to look at Santana who seemed to finally notice her.

Santana stopped in her tracks and stared at Quinn and Rachel for a moment before turning to her girlfriend. "You said your last name was _July_."

Frannie froze for a moment, "It is _legally_, I changed it after my father got arrested. I couldn't have my last name be associated with _criminals_. Did you date Quinn?"

"God no, she was my _roommate_," Santana said quickly. "Back when I lived in New York. I went to Columbia remember?"

Frannie blinked, "Huh, small world."

"_It is_," Santana said flicking her eyes at Rachel. She could trust Quinn to keep her mouth shut but Rachel.

"It's good to see you again Santana, I _told _Quinn we should have stopped by to see you and your family." Rachel said pleasantly, clearly, they weren't going to mention the elephant in the room especially not in front of Frannie, but she had _so _many questions.

"We went to high school together, Quinn's been my best friend ever since I came back," Santana said as she took a seat.

"So, you've had the unfortunate pleasure of meeting the other one?" Frannie frowned.

"I've _met _Charlie," Santana said. "We used to be friends—don't give me that look," Santana frowned at the look of disgust on Frannie's features.

"Just don't be fooled by the fact that she has money now. Charlie was a drug dealer, probably got into all sorts of trouble and that's how she made her money now. Being around her is just _asking_ for trouble," Frannie said looking at Quinn. "Which is why you need to move out of that apartment."

"My apartment is _amazing_ and Charlie's the owner of a logistics company that Amazon is looking to buy. You think that they haven't combed through her books with a fine-tooth comb? She busted her ass to make something of herself, who cares if she once slung drugs. You weren't helping us put food in the fridge, and we _both _know dad was spending all his money on booze." Quinn shoots back in annoyed fashion, before looking at Rachel who touches her hand. "Sorry, this is why I don't like dealing with _family_."

Frannie's about to retort when her phone rings and she glances at it, "I need to take this, I'll be right back."

Rachel waits until Frannie's out of earshot and turns to Santana her eyes wide. "_Santana_."

"What?" Santana hisses back. "I didn't _know_. I'm not doing anything _wrong_."

"Does Charlie know?" Quinn asked keeping her voice down.

"Why the _fuck _is it any of Charlie's business we're not together—"

"Even if you two are broken up you still _care_ deeply about her, and when I say the news will break Charlie, it will destroy her. They _hate _each other, and it runs far deeper than Charlie thinks Frannie abandoned her. I'm not telling you to break up with Frannie, but _for fucks sake_ Santana. Do something."

Santana looks up to see Frannie coming back and flashes her a smile. "_Fine_," she hisses calmly, allowing Frannie to give her a small kiss on the lips. "You've got to go?"

"I do. I love you, I'll see you tonight?" Santana nods and Frannie looks at Quinn. "Lunch is still on me, I'll handle the bill alright?"

"Least you could do." Quinn mutters under her breath.

Frannie rolled her eyes, "It was nice meeting you Rachel, perhaps we can have this conversation again under better circumstances."

"Sure, that will be great," Rachel said with a huge fake smile.

Quinn waits until her sister leaves before elbowing Rachel, "You didn't have to be nice to her, I mean _it's _Frannie, I'm not even nice to her most of the time."

"Was it believable?"

"Totally," Quinn said with a nod. "I almost believed you wanted to see my sister again."

"_Almost_?"

"I know Frannie," Quinn nudged her, but smiled. "If people didn't know _Frannie_ then I can see them totally believing you."

"Well once I can make you _believe _it I'll be closer to my EGOT," Rachel hummed.

"Are you two finished?" Santana asked picking up the menu.

"Santana."

"_Fine,_ whatever I'll talk to Charlie." Santana rolled her eyes. God they were _awful_.

~O~

"Okay, so our _lunch_ didn't go as planned, but I still think we should have told Santana," Rachel said as they entered the building. Her eyes glued on the door. "Charlie lives _here_?"

Quinn looked at the building, Charlie had upgraded to a place with far more security than before. It had happened post Russell going out of jail and she wondered how much this place put Charlie back. The security wasn't for Charlie's sake, it was to keep her from doing anything to him. At least Charlie was trying to curb her excess. "Well, _yeah_. Technically we both do, she sent me the key a couple of years ago. I mean I have a room."

"Why are we staying in a hotel?" Rachel frowned slightly scandalized.

"For _my_ sanity, I don't know how Charlie's been doing since the breakup." Quinn answered truthfully. It had been years since she'd been in Chicago and she felt slightly guilty about leaving Charlie to handle her emotional fallout alone, but Charlie had been unbearable and violent after their first break up, and she didn't want to be around that darkness. "This happened, and I don't think Charlie unpacked my things or anything, and I didn't want to just surprise her. I love Charlie, I love Frannie, but they both drive me crazy in different ways. But I _really_ want to tell _someone _in my family that I'm getting married."

"We're getting married," Rachel corrects.

Quinn swipes her ID card letting them into the building and waves at the concierge at the desk as they make their ways to the elevators. "We _are_," She relaxes against Rachel for a moment, before the elevator dings and they step off. "I don't think we should spring it on her, Charlie's never liked surprises."

"I _wasn't_ going to blurt it out! Besides _Charlie_ likes me, she'll be thrilled!"

"Charlie doesn't _do _thrilled," Quinn muttered. Not unless Santana was around to boost her mood. She knocks on the door. "All because I have a key doesn't mean I should barge in, she's not expecting us." Quinn explained when Rachel gave her a look.

"You just don't want—" Rachel began only for the door to swing open. Rachel slaps a smile on her face, only for it to disappear when she takes in Charlie's appearance. "Charlie—what the hell happened?"

Charlie looks down at her arm which is in a sling, it's to keep her stitches in her shoulder from jostling open. "I had an accident at the gym," she said smoothly. "I blame Sam. What are you two doing here?"

Quinn frowned, Sam would have certainly mentioned if Charlie had a damn accident in the gym. Her twin was _lying_, she could always tell, by the affect in her voice. It was almost imperceptible, but Charlie generally sounded flat when she lied. Like she was being sarcastic. "I proposed to Rachel and she said yes."

Charlie tilted her head, "You're getting married?" She turns to look at Rachel. "You're _willingly_ choosing to join this crazy family?"

Rachel smiled, Charlie's reaction was about as much as she suspected. "Yes, I'm aware, but I do love her."

Charlie huffed at that, "I'd hug you but my arm," she said patting Rachel on the shoulder. She adjusts slightly when Rachel hugs her and she looks at Quinn, "Congrats," she says finally.

Quinn frowned, Charlie seemed genuinely happy for them. "Do you have a fever?" She reaches for her twin's head only to have it smacked away. "What? Why are you so _pleased_?"

"Because you're _marrying _someone normal. I was worried that you were going to marry an old woman with a wrinkly ass. I like _Rachel_." Charlie replied. "You don't have a wrinkly ass do you Rachel?"

Rachel laughed and leaned against Charlie, "We should visit more often. You know you're my favorite twin."

Quinn blinked as, as Charlie pulled Rachel inside. Yeah there was something _definitely_ off about her twin but she wouldn't figure what it was until Rachel wasn't around. She hesitates for a moment, wondering if she should take Rachel and run, but Charlie seemed _okay_ and she didn't know why she was so unnerved.


	43. Part 03: Chapter 42

As far as Santana was concerned, she shouldn't have to _inform_ Charlie about who she was dating. It was none of Charlie's business. Even if Quinn was right and Charlie _loathed _Frannie, it was still none of her business and the fact that murdering people didn't seem to _phase _Charlie, all she was doing was putting a massive target on Frannie's back. But she couldn't just show up to Quinn's wedding with Frannie and expect Charlie not to say anything. Charlie _would_ say something or do something, and she couldn't deal with that. Quinn would totally blame her, even though it was Charlie who wouldn't be able to control herself.

All she _hoped_ for was that Charlie would take this information as an adult. She looks at the new building that Charlie had moved into and winced, this wasn't _Charlie_. At least it was not the Charlie that she remembered. Charlie had scoffed at the insane price tags of these places. She enters the hall and heads to the front desk. "I'm here to see Charlie Fabray." She says to the concierge. "I don't think I'm on the list of people who can go up."

"Name and ID."

"Santana Lopez," Santana says reaching into her purse.

"You're on the list, take the third elevator on the left."

Santana blinked, she hadn't expected to be let up. Quinn had said the security measures were a pain in the ass, and after showing up at Charlie's place of employment, it was obvious that Charlie's feelings towards her had changed. Sure, she _still _cared, but it was obvious that things between them had _cooled_.

She steps off the elevator and heads to Charlie's apartment, wincing at the familiar and _immediate_ pull. It was a nostalgic feeling and she rests her hand on Charlie's door for a moment and closes her eyes. Frannie had a pull to her too, but it felt _nothing_ like this. She's about to knock on the door when it opens up and she stares at Charlie who is covered in a light sheen of sweat and was in a pair of shorts and a sports bra. Charlie's hands were wrapped up and she looked mildly annoyed at her presence. "Hi."

Charlie's hazel eyes flick over her for a moment, before she steps aside and letting Santana inside. "Quinn and Rachel don't have a date for their wedding yet. So, until they do we don't have to do anything."

"Wait—you think I'm here to talk about the wedding?" Santana blinks.

"Well, Rachel _said_ that they weren't taking my money and I _had _to help with the planning. I already called cake-tasting duties, and helping with the reception," Charlie said as she moved through her apartment not bothering to turn around and look at Santana as she went back to the heavy bag that was in her makeshift gym. Sure, her building had one, but she needed to _hit _things.

"Oh. So, you left me with all the _crappy _assignments?"

"Yes. You're Quinn's best friend, I'm just the twin with the massive bank account." Charlie said as she tapped her hands on the heavy bag, she doesn't just plant her feet instead she pushes it and weaves around the bag dodging where it swung too.

Santana watches Charlie move, swallowing slightly and taking a step back as she traces goes over every shiver and twist of Charlie's muscles pausing when she notices the roundish scar on Charlie's shoulder and moves immediately placing her hand on it causing the heavy bag to hit Charlie and knock her off her feet. "What the hell is that?"

Charlie frowns and looks at her shoulder for a moment and looks at Santana, "Don't ask a question you don't want the answer too. I'm not in the mood for you to lecture me about committing felonies."

Santana froze before rolling her eyes, "And this is why we aren't together. What is it this time? Did Dani pull your chain again? You needed more cash for your company?"

"Something like that." Charlie hops to her feet and runs a hand through her hair. "I haven't talked to Dani in years. I'm glad that you're doing better Santana but why are you _here_?"

"Because I have a _girlfriend and_—" Santana glared at Charlie who held her hand up.

"Don't care."

"You don't care?"

"Why should I? So, you have a girlfriend I don't see why that means you had to come _here_ Santana."

"I'm trying to be _kind_, I just don't want you to make a scene when you're at the wedding Charlie. When you see who I'm _with_—"

"Seriously Santana, if you're just here to rub it in my face that you're happy, you can _leave_. I don't _care_. I've got other things to worry about then the wedding that right now _doesn't _have a date. Rachel doesn't even want to get married until after she wins her first major award. I have other shit to think about and process."

"_Like _what?" Santana threw her hands up, she should have just blurted it out instead of couching it in small-talk. She still could but—

"I have _three_ sisters. My _father_ fathered another fucking child."

"_What_?" Santana's jaw drops. "Your sister never mentioned—" Frannie was hiding things from her and it was beginning to irritate her.

"I don't know if _Quinn_ knows, Frannie might. You know she changed her name to _July_. It was my mother's maiden name. Fuck _her._ That bitch didn't even give a shit about my mom. She wasn't at the funeral."

Santana swallowed, maybe now wasn't the best time to bring up Frannie, "How did you find out about her?"

"He ambushed me when I was heading to my car, it took everything I had not to make him disappear. He said I _owed him_." Charlie inhaled sharply. She slams her hand against the heavy bag again and pulls away as the bag starts to deflate as it begins to leak sand.

Santana frowned slightly, now definitely wasn't the time to bring up Frannie. "You don't really _owe _your father anything. That being said, he brought another life into this _world_ and I _know _you well enough to know that you don't want that little girl growing up like you did."

"_Don't_."

Santana rolled her eyes. "Don't what?"

"Don't _try _and make me into a good person," Charlie responds crossing her arms over her chest.

"I never _said_ you were a good person. I'm saying you don't want that little girl growing up like you did—how old is she?"

"Close to _two_. She still has the new baby smell, I imagine. I've had a private investigator follow him, _watch _him to make sure he wasn't abusing her. He's been relatively sober, and he takes her to the park and seems relatively attentive."

Santana blinked and glanced at the deflated heavy bag for a moment before turning to Charlie and taking a step forward and wrapping her arms around her tightly, not letting go even though Charlie made a half-assed effort to separate them. "I don't need to remind you that your father is a _terrible _human being."

"I feel like I'm the crazy one who knows what a piece of shit my father is, but people will point to this and see _people_ like him can change. They'll say that maybe I was the problem, not him. Frannie already thinks so—"

"He was cruel to Quinn too."

"He rarely _touched her_. Not for a lack of trying," Charlie lets out a bitter laugh at this and rubs at the scar on her eyebrow. "_Fuck_."

Santana tugs her back to the living room, she needed to be away from punch able objects and just _feel_. There was a voice in her head that was yelling at her to leave, that their connection made this a _terrible _place to be, and that she had a girlfriend. But Charlie was impulsive especially when her emotions were high, and if it stopped her from lashing out at someone or doing something _idiotic_ and criminal then she was going to make sure Charlie made the right decision. "You're not _broken_. I know everyone says that about you, I know you sort of make them uncomfortable sometimes but that doesn't mean you're broken. I know that's what you're thinking, maybe he did this to me because I really was defective. You _aren't_."

"I—"

"_No_. You talked and now you need to listen to me. You're not even a _terrible _human being, maybe you have to try a little harder to be a good person, but that doesn't make you a _shit _human being, not like him." Santana said pulling Charlie onto the couch. It takes Charlie a moment before she curls up beside her.

There's a moment's quiet between them, Charlie didn't _cry_. She just closed her eyes and leaned against her. "I don't know what I should do."

"Well for one, _you _don't give him a dime," Santana says. "You've got an accountant, that little girl should have her own trust or something. Something that you _control_. You should talk with her mother about it. At least that's what I think you should do."

Charlie nods and closes her eyes again. This felt _nice_. Santana felt nice. She glances up just as Santana turns to look at her. Santana was with someone else, though she doubted that Santana felt _their _connection with her new girlfriend. She needed to say something before—

Santana leans in, her lips capturing Charlie's as she kisses her. Feeling the sparks that tingle throughout her body. This was most definitely the worst thing she could ever do, but Charlie was her drug of choice, and even though half of her brain is screaming to stop it, the kiss deepens within seconds and she had her hand on Charlie's sports bra, yanking it upward.


	44. Part 03: Chapter 43

Santana swallowed, as she kept perfectly still on Charlie's comfortable bed gripping the sheets that she was under. She had _cheated_. She was a _cheater_. She had cheated on Francesca, and Charlie was a savant in the bedroom. Her body still tingled in the post-orgasmic glow. She couldn't even remember how they had managed to get to Charlie's bedroom.

The bed shifts and she can feel Charlie getting off the bed. She tilts her head slightly, so she can watch as Charlie bends over to grab a pair of shorts that were just lying on the ground. She smiles as Charlie sniffs it, before deciding it was clean enough to wear. It was like she hadn't grown up at all.

"You don't have to pretend to be asleep." Santana freezes, as Charlie slips on her shorts. "I get it. Pity fuck, we don't need to make this weird. We have this connection, and as much as I want you to stay. You have a girlfriend. And _honestly_ at this point I don't want to know her name. I'm not going to do or say anything to fuck up your life Santana."

There was no point in pretending any longer and she sits up and rubs at her eyes, "It wasn't a pity fuck."

Charlie blinks, "Your girlfriend isn't doing it for you so you're looking me up?"

"Don't be _crude_ Charlie, it's our connection. This is why we can't be in the same room together for long periods of time, we _inevitably_ end up here." It was a cop out, she knew it, and there was a part of her that _longed_ for the days where they would spend the entire day in bed, having sex whenever they felt like it, or just watching television, _cuddling_ and just being _close_. She closes her eyes for a moment, "Could you promise me that you wouldn't do it again?"

"Do it?" Charlie prompts reaching for a shirt.

"_Break the law_. If things get difficult, can you _swear_ to me that you wouldn't just break the law?" It was foolish, and she was setting herself up for disappointment again. She had something good with Frannie. Frannie was self-made, she was ambitious, she was a decent lover, sure there were some rough edges, but Frannie was good for her. Charlie would say anything to get her to believe—

"No."

Santana blinked, "No?"

"I can say the words if that's what you're looking for. But you _know _I can't keep that promise. There will _always_ be something Santana, and I'm not going to _lie _to you. I have to work harder than most people to be _good_. And even though I _desperately _want to be with you again, I won't _lie_ to you, I won't hide what I am."

Santana narrowed her eyes, "You're not a _monster_."

Charlie flashed Santana a small smile, "Maybe, but that doesn't make me one of those superheroes in the comics that Sam keeps dropping on my desk." Charlie runs a hand through her hair, "I'm never going to be—_respectable_."

"You _can _be, I don't know why you're talking like you can't be," It was a plea, she had a girlfriend, who was everything she wanted. She should be _happy_, but here she was naked in Charlie's bed.

"You wouldn't love me if I was anyone else," Charlie shrugged. They wouldn't have made it if she was anyone else. Charlie shifts uncomfortably for a moment, "Go back to your girlfriend and your perfect life Santana."

"My life isn't _perfect_ Charlie." When Charlie doesn't say anything, she swallows and shakes her head slightly before kicking off the blankets and going to find her clothes. She needed some air, and more importantly she needed to get out of here.

~O~

Miguel Lopez jumped when he heard the door slam and sighed as he got up to check who was in a terrible mood. He finds his daughter staring at an open fridge. He clears his throat and watches as she shoots up, he was about to comment about the fact that she needed to be studying for her midterms, but the confused lost look on her face makes him pause. "How about I make you something to warm to drink," he offers.

Santana nods wordlessly, her mind a mess of emotions. She takes a seat at the island and fidgets, maybe this was _guilt_, she hadn't felt that in a _long _time. And sure, she could bitch at Quinn, but Quinn was related to both Charlie and Frannie. It was a _mess_, and sure she had other people she _talked_ to and was friendly with, but they didn't _know _her as the girl that came back from being kidnapped. They didn't know the full story and they wouldn't _get it_. She flicks her eyes to her father who was waiting for the water to boil and smiles, he was trying. "Francesca is Charlie's sister."

Miguel jerked to look at Santana, when she doesn't say anything and just stares at him, he laughs, "What did you say? I'm sure you said—"

"Francesca is Charlie's _sister_, I found out when I met her family. Imagine my surprise when Quinn and Rachel show up, they _thankfully_ didn't say anything to Frannie, but—I'm _dating _Charlie's sister. Her last name is July, she changed it because her father's—well you know who her father is." The words come tumbling out it's almost cathartic in a way.

Miguel looks at the half-completed cup of hot cocoa that he had started to prepare, "This calls for something stronger, I'll be back," he said as he headed to the garage to get some hard liquor. It doesn't take him long to come back with two glasses and a bottle of whiskey. "Start from the beginning, _mija_," he says pouring her a drink.

Santana laughed, almost bitterly. "I _can't_. I just—" she's quiet for a moment. "You can't tell mami, you have to promise me that you won't tell _mami_."

Miguel nods he could handle some silly drama. He'd been there a million times before he had met Maribel, "It'll be _our _secret."

Santana bit her lip, he had been so flippant about it, like this was just a case of her sleeping with a girl who happened to be related to her first love. She looks at the glass and takes it and gulps it down, ignoring the burning sensation. "I wasn't the only person who was kidnapped. That's why you can't tell _mami_, she'll want to do something about it—and the people who took me are _powerful_, if they had no problem stealing a bunch of kids and _experimenting _on them, I doubt assassinations are off the table."

Miguel froze, Santana had _never _once brought up the kidnapping even with her multiple therapists, she had bounced back rather quickly but her words were almost paranoid. "Okay," he said quietly. He would make the call later whether to rope his wife into it. "Okay, what happened—"

Santana pours another drink before her father could stop her. "That's where I met Charlie, it wasn't the first day—it was days after the fact. She was there too, after some of the teenagers died they started to herd us into cells together and she got put in mine. I thought they had gotten Quinn at first, I didn't know that she had a twin. We weren't _friends_ back then." Santana swallowed. "It wasn't until we were the only two left that it sort of happened where we just came to rely on each other, Charlie was _really_ good at picking pockets, and really good at taking pain. Russell used her as a punching bag, she just disassociates, I guess. Either way she was better than I was at it, so it didn't affect her as much as they gave her spinal taps, or they stuck her with needles. She gave me her food, I don't think she trusted it, and she kept telling me we're going to live. I believed her sometimes, I mean I was gone for a good long time. I had to believe her, and then one night she had managed to finally swipe a card from one of the scientists that were torturing us." Santana licks her lips. "We were supposed to leave that night, but it was _hard_ and we both fell asleep and we were woken up by this guy who dragged us into a new room and that's when I saw it."

"Saw it?" Miguel prompted, unsure if he should reach out and touch her. She sounded distant like she was reliving it.

"Charlie calls it the void. The scientists called it a singularity, all I know it is that it's a dimensional hole, that was unstable. They threw me in." Santana paused and looked at her father. There was disbelief on his features. "I know it sounds unbelievable, _trust _me I've thought I was batshit, I thought my mind had played tricks on me but a few months after I came back I made a—" Santana frowns. It would be better to show not tell him. He needed to know how dangerous it was for him to breathe a word of it to anyone. "Think of an object any object, can be food, _anything_."

"I don't know a basketball," Miguel managed to get out, still baffled as to where this was going.

Santana held out her hand and concentrated for a moment before a basketball was put together right in front of her father's eyes. She watches as her father jumps back and she pushes the basketball away watching as it bounces towards him. "I can create _anything_. I don't know why or _how _it happened, but I can do so many things _papi_. Probably more if I worked on my abilities like Charlie does actively."

"Charlie can do this too?"

"No. I don't know why her abilities are different, but Charlie—it's not my place to tell you what Charlie's abilities are. But she was fighting them off and after she saw me get thrown in, she went in after me. I don't know what happened but needless to say, the prison that we were in was destroyed in the process and we _got _out. Charlie had his keys and I we drove from Indiana back into Chicago. She picked pockets and stole what we needed to drive back. And we have a connection. The two of us, Quinn thinks it's because of what we went through both the emotional and physical, but I _know _when Charlie is close by. It's like a tingle. Charlie can tell when I'm nearby."

Miguel looked at the basketball for a moment before reaching for his own drink and gulping it down. It was too much for him, "What does this have to do with you dating Francesca?"

"I slept with Charlie, earlier. I think it's the bond, but I mean whenever I'm near her it reopens old wounds, it makes me want her, and I know she wants me too. But Frannie is _normal_, she's good for me and I do like her."

"But you're in love with Charlie." Miguel said calmly, before taking a seat beside his daughter. "Did she break up with you?"

"No. Every time it was my choice. Because of something _she _did. Charlie doesn't think the rules apply to her. She—she is a criminal. Or well she breaks the law, when she feels like it's necessary. Every time we've broken up is because she's broken the law."

"People break the law all the time Santana—when I was—"

"Murder isn't just _breaking _the law. She _killed _someone. One of the scientists that experimented on us—who does that?"

"Oh." Miguel blinked. "Has she ever—"

"_No_. Charlie has never laid a hand on me. She's never been cold or cruel towards me, she's never really attempted to control my actions except for the whole let's not blurt out to the world that we have super powers, and to not tell you _everything_. At the time we were teenagers and honestly it is a massive corporation and while I trusted you. Charlie got picked up by the _police_."

"_Shit_."

Santana laughed and poured herself another drink. "_Tell _me about it."

"We should tell your mother."

"We can't." Santana said firmly. "I am not going to be locked in a room again while people experiment on me."

Miguel paused and looked at the basketball. "I'm not going to let that happen, and I know your mother won't once she understands Santana."

"Can you _promise me _that she won't?"

Miguel hesitated, his wife was a cut-throat prosecutor, who tended to go over the top especially when she felt her family was threatened. "We'll figure out how to talk to your mother about this some other day." He says finally before looking at his daughter. "Did this connection have anything to do with how sick you got?"

Santana shrugged, "I don't know. Charlie doesn't _lie_ to me, and she said it wasn't her. I believe her. It didn't feel like Charlie fucking around with her abilities, honestly, it's been so long since she has I'm not even sure she can. It really might have just been a viral illness."

Miguel flicked his eyes over his daughter, he _doubted it_. She had been close to death's door and had miraculously recovered the next day. He had no idea what they had pumped her full off and he couldn't run any tests on her without possibly triggering some sort of mental break in his daughter. Instead he pulls her into a hug. "I can't tell you what to do about your Francesca and Charlie situation, but I can say that I'm happy that you _finally_ told me."

Santana let out a sigh, he hadn't exactly helped her figure out what to do but she still had time to figure it out.


	45. Part 03: Chapter 44

Charlie tossed the bouncy ball against the wall in her office and opened a portal, so it came right back to her, after it bounced. Using her abilities like this was a terrible idea, from how quickly her mood was plummeting but it _felt_ right. She looked over at the speech that Sam's father had put on her desk, it was for the new efforts to expand further their business massively, and they'd finally go public.

But she didn't particularly care. Her mind seemed stuck, replaying the last few moments with Santana on what seemed to be an endless loop. She should have lied. She should have told Santana _exactly_ what she wanted to hear. She had no idea why she insisted on being the bigger person here. They were finally in the same city again, Santana was nearby. "_Fuck_."

She threw the ball at her door as it opened, and the ball quickly bounced in an off direction and bounced around her office, causing Charlie's face to twist into a scowl as she watches it bounce under her couch. She turns back to the door ready to tear into the person who had _dared_ only to stop and stare at Dr. Lopez. "Doctor Lopez—is Santana okay?"

"She's fine. I hope you don't mind me stopping by, but I caught the elevator up with Sam I think his name was, friendly guy he helped me get by your assistant."

"That's Sam. Always trying to make my life interesting." Charlie got up and gestured towards the chair. "Is there a problem Doctor—"

"_Miguel_, I've told you to call me that for years," Miguel said closing the door. "I am here _because _of my daughter, but she's not aware that I'm here. So, if you could please keep this from her—"

"I—_okay_." Charlie rubbed the back of her neck, Miguel wasn't sitting down, and it made her nervous and slightly paranoid. "I _really_ do love your daughter, but I'm trying to give her _space_ like she wants. That's why I don't visit as often." She mumbles.

"When we first met, I didn't quite understand what Santana saw in you, but you _seemed_ to worship the ground she walked on. Maribel thought it was just a _phase_ for Santana, but she does _love _you."

"I—uh thanks?" Charlie shifts uncomfortably. "I don't understand why you're here though."

"You saved my _daughter's _life and for that I am _eternally_ grateful," Miguel watches as Charlie shrinks back.

"She told you? What did she tell you?" There was panic in Charlie's voice.

"She _told _me what they did to the both of you. She told me how you gave her hope, even if she thought that you two were going to die in there. She told me how you jumped in after her. Don't worry I'm not going to tell a _soul_." Miguel took a step closer to Charlie who looked like she was about to run away. "_Thank_ _you_. Truly—she's my only child and the thought of what those bastards did to her, what they put her through. Thank you for getting her _home_."

"I—she saved my life too. She doesn't _think _she did, but she did." Charlie says quietly. She bites her tongue hard when Miguel envelopes her in a tight hug, unsure of what to do.

Miguel pulls back and looks at her, "She showed me what she could do. How she could _make things_, she didn't show tell me what you could do—"

"I—" Charlie frowned. There were only three people on the planet that _knew _what she could do. Miguel was thrilled with her now, but if he _knew _that she had committed crimes that had impacted his _wife. _"I make things disappear," she said after a moment. She was not thrilled with this conversation.

"Like Santana's illness?" Miguel watched as Charlie looked away. It was the only answer he needed, another thing that he was grateful for. "

"I really don't want to talk about this Doctor Lopez," Charlie muttered finally.

"Because you don't trust me," Miguel surmises.

"It's a secret that I only told _three _people. Quinn, Sam and your _daughter_. It was meant to stay that way, the more people that _know_—"

"The more dangerous it is for the _both _of you," Miguel pointed out. He exhales slowly, and looks around her office it seemed rather solid, and he doubted anyone was listening. "Santana is my _everything_, I am incredibly proud of her. Most people don't _bounce_ back from this, but she did, and I know it's because of you. I would never do anything to jeopardize her well-being, and _you're _part of that. If I did anything that caused you harm, she'd never forgive me."

Charlie nodded, not sure where to begin. "What else did Santana tell you?"

"Why she broke up with you."

Charlie froze, she shouldn't have promised not to bring this up with Santana. She was tempted to pay Santana a visit just so she could _bitch _at her for telling her father _everything_. "I don't always make the right _decision_, but I imagine in my shoes you would have done the same thing."

"I'm not sure _what _I would have done in your shoes." Miguel admits after a moment, "I still don't quite understand your ability."

"It's _better_ that way," Charlie said with a simple shrug.

Miguel hesitated before nodding, "I want to understand what my daughter went through, I want to understand what you went through. God knows you probably made the right call in having her not tell us right away, or they would have found you both again, but that was nearly a decade ago Charlie. I got to see Santana graduate, _twice_. She got into _law_ school. I want to _help_, I want to help take _these _people down."

Charlie blinked at the request. "No." The word was out of her mouth before her head had a moment to process his request and come up with some other thing that Miguel could do to feel like he was fighting the good fight.

"_No_? You're just going to allow them to get away with this?"

"I never said that, I'm saying no to you helping take them down. Santana loves you and they have no problem using lethal force. I have powers and even I'm not completely immune," Charlie said calmly as she pulled the collar on her shirt revealing the healed up bullet wound. Her healing was faster than most other people's, but she could still feel the pain.

"Is that a bullet—" It looked like a wound that had was freshly healed.

"Yes," Charlie said not letting him finish. "It's dangerous, _they _are dangerous."

Miguel inhaled sharply. When Santana had stated that they probably had assassin's, he had thought she was exaggerating, but this was the _proof_. He would keep his daughter's secret away from his wife, he didn't know how she would take it, but she would insist that they not be afraid. "Then instead of going to someone who you will have to pay to keep quiet, come and _see _me or _call _me and I will come and patch you up."

Charlie pulls up her collar, studying him for a moment. Miguel was a doctor, but he also cared deeply about Santana and she _knew_ that he hadn't come this way just to hug her. "I assume you'll also want to run some tests?"

"Only if you agree. I don't know if they gave you and Santana the same thing. When she got sick, and then got better I realized I didn't _know _anything, I couldn't help her. I'm certain if you hadn't intervened when you did, she wouldn't be here anymore, and I am not going to lose her a second time. And if she can get sick then so can you, we need to be prepared."

Charlie hesitates for a moment, "Very well but you _can't_ tell Santana. I'm not supposed to be in her _life_. And she'll probably see this as a betrayal."


	46. Part 03: Chapter 45

'_What do you mean you haven't told her. You need to tell her Santana before Charlie finds out on her own, you're incredibly lucky that Charlie doesn't give a shit about social media.'_

Santana sighed, "I tried too, but she was in crisis mode and it wasn't the _right _time. She said she doesn't care Quinn."

'_Frannie's invited to my wedding and Charlie doesn't give a shit if it's some random asshole she's never met. Frannie is the closest thing she has to a mortal enemy. I know my sisters. Both of them, Charlie might be ticked but she wouldn't do anything immediately until Frannie said something and then all hell will break loose and Charlie will kill her. Look I like Frannie most days but we both know that she's just a stand in for Charlie.'_

"I love her."

'_Bullshit. If you loved her then you'd tell her about your past with Charlie. Which you also haven't because you know there is a very good chance Frannie would dump you because you're tainted.'_

"Oh, fuck off Quinn." Santana snapped at her.

'_Is that what you did when you went over to Charlie's apartment?' _Quinn sniped bitterly. When Santana didn't respond Quinn's, jaw dropped. '_Are you fucking kidding me? You're fucking both of them? Actually, don't answer that, because when this blows up in your face and it will, I am going to act surprised when Charlie turns to me and demands an answer. Figure out if you want to actually do this thing with Frannie or you know date Charlie, I don't really give a shit what you do. Just make a goddamn decision.'_

Santana doesn't hesitate to hang up, there were days when she wondered why Quinn was her best friend. She needed a new best friend, who didn't judge her. She lets out a sigh, it was something to think about later. Right now she had to worry about getting ready for her finals and then starting to prepare for her state bar exam. She huffs, and looks at her intense notes and rubs her eyes before holding out her hand over her empty mug, making sure that the coffee was hot. She picks it up and takes a sip, enjoying the faint hints of hazelnut.

She turns her attention back to her Advanced Federal Criminal Justice Practice class, she had done rather well in the class and if she aced this exam, her professor had said he'd write her a glowing recommendation for the Northern Illinois State's Attorney's office. Her mother was already making some calls for her. There was a knock on the door of the study room and she glances at the time quickly. She was still booked for two hours.

The door opens, and Santana turns to see Frannie carrying a bag of food. "I finished work early and thought you'd be here, and if you're anything like me you've forgotten to bring food. I know this class is important to you but you're no use to anyone if you're not operating at peak efficiency and that includes eating." Frannie said entering the room and putting the bag on the desk where there was a small space that wasn't covered in papers. "What are you studying for?"

Santana's stomach growled, and she reaches for the food, it was greasy and _wonderful,_ and she knew that Frannie hated the place. "Advanced Federal Criminal Justice," she says reaching for the food. "You didn't have to do this."

Frannie doesn't say anything picking up a handout and looking at it, "You know you could be a fantastic lawyer, and make quite a bit of money. You don't have to work for the government unless of course you have political aspirations that you haven't told me about. I mean they do call them public _servants _after all."

Santana rolled her eyes as she grabbed the chopsticks and took a bite from the rice, letting out a low groan of appreciation. "And what if I did have political aspirations? I'd make a fantastic _president_."

Frannie turned to look at her, putting the paper down. "Opposition research would focus on the fact that you dated Charlotte Reagan Fabray, who by all accounts is a _criminal_." Frannie tilted her head watching as Santana coughed and pushed a bottle of water closer to her, gently patting her on the back.

"I—"

"Look, I get it, Charlie's the _bad-girl_, you know the one that your parents don't approve of, I _get it_. It's rather common. And it's not like you knew that I was her sister when we started seeing each other, that's my fault. I should have told you the truth about my last name."

"Are you breaking up with me? I was going to have this conversation with you but—I just didn't know how." It was a lie, she had no idea how to broach the subject.

"No?"

"Then why are we talking about Charlie? I'm with you. I'm happy with you, I'm in love with _you_." Santana says putting down her food.

Frannie hummed and pulled her hand away, "And your thing with Charlie is _over_? You'll never be with her again?"

"Charlie will never be the person I want her to be, and I'm not going to spend my life hoping that she grows up. You don't have to worry about me and Charlie." It's a lie but from the brief look of relief on Frannie's face she knows that Frannie believed her. "I'd kiss you, but you know—"

Frannie rolled her eyes, glad that the moment was gone. "Do you want me to help?"

"Can you? I really want this internship."

"Right I'm supposed to _support _your dreams to be a public servant," Frannie said with a sigh, picking up Santana's cue cards.


	47. Part 03: Chapter 46

Being an intern at the Northern Illinois State Department _sucked_. She had gotten lucky with her last internship, even though she suspected that they had all been kind to her because of her mother's position. But here, _no one_ gave a shit that she was the daughter of an assistant district attorney. She knew better than to complain, Frannie would just remind her that she wanted to be a public _servant_, which was infuriating. So, she made sure to get her work done and she hadn't messed up any of the coffee orders since the first day. Everyone had to pay their dues, she got that, no one said she had to like it.

She sighs as she looks at the brief that she'd been going over for the past hour, and sighs. It looked perfect, but she needed to take a small break and check it over once more, before sending it back to the lawyer who had requested she do this. She rubs her eyes looks up to spot Jesse St. James poking his head inside to take a look at the other intern, their eyes meet for a moment and he motions for her to follow him. She immediately gets up after making sure she had saved and locked her computer and quickly moves towards him.

"Lopez was it?"

"Yes sir," Santana said as respectfully as she could. Resisting the urge to frown, Jesse St. Jackass was the worst of the worst as far as she was concerned. He was far more interested in turning this into a political career.

"You were the kidnapped girl, weren't you?"

Santana bristled but nodded, she wasn't exactly thrilled that she was reliving her high school experience but telling him off was career suicide. "I was."

"Then you can empathize. I need you take notes on this meeting, a fifteen-year-old was kidnapped and now has this crazy story about how she was locked in a cell with around fifty other teenagers and get this _she was_ rescued by some vigilante with _super powers_."

Santana nearly tripped, "_What_?"

Jesse nodded, "I can understand your _disbelief_, I personally think that she's making it up, she was probably with her boyfriend or whatever and was gone for a week or two and is making this up to get out of trouble. The only reason we're dealing with it is because she was in _Iowa_ of all places. She was a minor when she was taken. I got assigned to the case."

Santana nodded wordlessly as Jesse opened the door to the conference room for her and she steps inside, and she swallows as she looks at the father and mother, her eyes fall onto the small diminutive Asian who was sitting in between her parents. It was like a flashback to when she had come back and she swallows and flashes the girl a small smile. What had they done to her? Maybe if she had spoken up back then, this wouldn't have happened to her.

"Santana this is Mr. and Mrs. Kazatori, and this is Dottie Kazatori," Jesse said introducing them quickly. "Santana is an _intern_ who is here to take notes. I assure you we are taking all this very _seriously_. I've read over the police report and I've read over your statement and we're going to need more information if we want to find out _who _did this to you, and why the other teenagers who were '_kidnapped_' haven't come forward."

"_My _daughter isn't a liar!"

Jesse flicked his eyes towards the father for a moment, noting the thick accent. "I'm not accusing her of lying, but we need to get to the bottom of this, and if there were a bunch of teenagers that were kidnapped, our _office _would be flooded. I've called several other districts to see if there are any other teenagers coming forward but there aren't. So, we need to get to the bottom of—"

"_She _said not to go to the cops." Dottie said quietly.

"She? This _vigilante_ with super powers?" At this Jesse scoffed loudly. "There are no such things."

Santana began to write down everything Dottie said, trying to keep her hand from shaking as she wrote. Jesse expected perfection. And even if she wanted to ask questions, she kept her mouth shut. She wasn't a lawyer yet and getting involved or trying to take over the case was a terrible idea.

Jesse flipped through the file that he had, "According to the original police report you went missing in late January and you were gone for nearly three weeks."

Santana nearly snapped the pen, that had been around the time that she had begun to feel ill, and it had progressively gotten worse.

"And you were rescued February 17th?" Dottie nodded.

The day after she had seen Charlie. This was no coincidence. She had felt better soon after that.

"She killed them, all the scientists that were there all the guards that were there. She _killed them_. Then she freed us and told us to not say anything." Dottie said quickly, her voice shaky as she shivered. She licked her lips, "The scientists they _hurt _us, I'm not upset that they're dead. They were going to kill us."

"Bodies?" Jesse frowned. "There was no mention of bodies."

Charlie wasn't an idiot. She didn't leave bodies behind.

"I don't know what happened, when I took the police back to where we were found there was _nothing_ there. It had been a _prison_, I'm telling the truth. They thought I was lying."

"An entire prison doesn't just disappear," Jesse said looking at Dottie's parents, and giving them a look of disbelief. "Not in a day or a week."

"Our daughter isn't a liar—" Mr. Kazatori said beginning to stand up as tears began to stream down Dottie's face, but he looked away.

Santana moved putting her pen down, causing Jesse to turn to look at her. "I'm going to take her to get some air," she said looking at him and then flicking her eyes to the crying girl in the chair. Jesse cringed and nodded. When Dottie's mother moved to help, "It's okay, we're in a secure location. And we'll just be in the bathroom," she said gently as she helped Dottie to her feet.

"I'm not making it up," Dottie hiccupped as Santana led her away from the conference room.

Santana bit the inside of her cheek, Dottie had come forward which meant she couldn't be trusted with this secret at all. Charlie's words had come back to haunt her, and she suddenly understood Charlie's paranoia. "I believe you," Santana said as she grabbed a box of Kleenex off someone's desk as they entered the bathroom. She sighs and offers a few sheets to her. "I _believe _you. I was—_kidnapped _as well."

Dottie sniffles and blows her nose. "You were?"

Santana nods, "They call me the kidnapped girl. It was _difficult_, I was taken for two months."

"Were you rescued by a masked superhero?"

"Superheroes don't _kill_," Santana corrected, though she could understand Dottie's fascination and hero-worship. But the last thing she needed was a crazed miniature Asian going on a killing spree. "I managed to escape. I want you to know, with the proper therapy and the right people surrounding you, things _will _get better. Look at me."

Dottie nodded and moved to hug Santana who stiffened but allowed it. "Did they ever catch the person who kidnapped you?"

"No," Santana said. "But that doesn't mean that we won't get _justice_ for you or for me." Santana says patting Dottie on the back.

~O~

Santana glanced at her phone once more making sure it was off. She had told Frannie that she was going to a friend's apartment, and Frannie hadn't really asked any questions about it. She felt guilty about lying but telling her that she needed to see Charlie would only cause a fight. Besides she only needed a few questions answered. Charlie had promised to never lie to her, that obviously meant that she wasn't going to share the information with her, and it pissed her off.

She steps off the elevator, feeling the familiar sensation of their bond pulling her closer to Charlie. She turns to where Charlie's apartment is located and makes a beeline towards it, noting that the door was slightly ajar. Charlie had felt her presence and made it easier for her to get inside. She takes a step inside and spots Charlie standing in her kitchen standing over a pot that was boiling. "You cook?"

Charlie shrugged, "Part of my therapy," Charlie informed her.

"Cooking is part of your therapy?"

"I need to learn to build things or whatever, I stopped paying attention. But Sam insists that organic grass-fed food will make me feel better and is healthier for me. I don't know why I listen to him, organic chicken tastes like chicken to me, it just costs five dollars more. I think it's a scam." Charlie responds as she dumps the chicken onto the pan. "Why are you here? Your girlfriend not doing it for you sexually?"

"Don't be a _dick_ Charlie, she's amazing in bed," Santana sniped at Charlie, who only flashed her an amused knowing smile. Like she was aware that Frannie wasn't _her _in bed. And she wasn't but the sex was _fine_. She takes a seat one of the bar stools and watches Charlie cooking it did smell rather good for someone who generally preferred to eat out.

"Still haven't answered the question of why you're here, you live with your parents and I imagine your girlfriend brings you food on occasion, so I know you're not here for a free meal." Charlie said even as she brought out two plates and began to plate the fettuccine with broccoli and chicken alfredo sauce. She grabs the pepper and cracks a bit on top before pushing a plate towards Santana. "Why are you here?" she repeats again, as she grabs two forks.

Santana picked up her fork and twirled the fettuccine around it, "I know more children were _taken_." She watches Charlie's reaction carefully. Wondering if Charlie was going to deny it and lie about it.

Charlie hummed as she moved her plate next to Santana. "How did you find out?"

"I should be the one asking the questions—this is surprisingly good by the way." Santana said after taking a bite. "One of the girls that you rescued came in with her parents. I don't think they believe her. Her entire story is unbelievable, and I think all the other teens are keeping their mouth shut. It's cruel don't you think?"

"The alternative being?" Charlie asks.

"Charlie—"

"I told her to keep her mouth shut Santana, you think I wasn't aware that this was a possible problem?" Charlie said as she grabs a napkin and dabs her lips.

Santana narrowed her eyes, "If you had _bothered _to run this by me I could have helped, and we could have planned something."

"You were _dying_, I acted."

"And now a girl that I know you don't _care _about is hurting in ways that you can't believe to understand. And the story is out, whether you like it or not even if no one believes her, lawyers talk. And Jesse has a big mouth, it will be one of those _crazy_ stories. A crazy story that will spread, and eventually _someone _will hear about it. Someone who works for those people and then—" Santana frowned, letting the words speak for themselves.

"Trust me Santana I can _handle _it."

"Are you fucking kidding me? Will you knock it of with the machismo _bullshit_?"

"Machismo?" Charlie repeats.

"I'm guessing you were _shot _last time. All it takes is one well aimed bullet, a misstep and you're _dead_. You're _dead_. And you think that they'll go easy on you? That they won't try and figure out a way to stop you to disrupt your abilities? And then they'll take you in and if you thought what happened was bad before? They'll slice you open to see how you fucking tick. They're _monsters_, they're fucking monsters. I saw myself in Dottie. I saw myself and she's still traumatized and she's not even certain herself if she's telling the truth. She's all alone, and you don't give a shit."

"No, I _told her _not to open her mouth. I told her to not go to the authorities, but she did, and there were consequences for her not listening to me. What do you want me to do Santana?"

"Not keep shit like this from me? We're supposed to be a team Charlie."

"Since when? You broke up with me, you don't talk to me, we only talk when you're pissed off that I did something, even though what I do is no longer your concern. And in case you missed it, I killed everyone else in that damn building, and I don't feel _guilty._"

The words stun her, and Santana drops her fork, "When did killing become so easy for you?"

"About the time that your life was threatened because of what they were doing to the void." Charlie answered truthfully. "I will do anything to protect you and the people I love, and I know that scares you. Truthfully, I was just going to stop them and destroy their research, but then I heard the _screams_. I saw the teenagers and I saw red. So, I punished them. All of them, it would have been better if I had stopped, I could have asked them questions, but I didn't. I killed every last one of them, and I saved those teenagers, and I know that I did the right thing."

"That's not _justice_, you should have called the authorities. They would have saved those children and we could have had _real_ justice. Who the _fuck _made you judge jury and executioner Charlie?"

"I saved your life, I saved those children's lives at the expense of some shitty scientists who got _off_ on torturing children. That was _us_. They were doing it again. Cops they have rules, ones that I'm not bound by. I did the right thing, and I'm sorry that you can't see it because you feel _sorry _for those sad fucks." Charlie put down her fork. "This is why we broke up Santana."

"We broke up because you don't value human life, or the _rule _of law." Santana frowned. "I'm working to make a difference and you're just going around killing people." It was an argument that they had needed to have for years, and now was the time.

Charlie narrowed her eyes, "I valued your life. That's why I went to do what I did. I _saved you_, and if you want me to feel remorse for that, then you've lost your mind. Besides, what if it had been your parents? Or your new girlfriend who was in danger? Who was being held by those sick fucks? Would you let the police handle it or would you do it yourself? The thing is I know you well enough to know that you would do it yourself or ask me to do it for you, and I'm okay with that. I'm okay with you being all filled with optimism about the law, it's good to believe in your chosen profession."

"Because you can't live by your own god damn rules Charlie. You can't cheat, steal and kill. Those are wrong. You can't be a vigilante, you just can't." Santana snapped and ran a hand through her hair, letting the awkward silence fill the air.

"I'm not broken Santana, and I'm not _evil _either," Charlie said after a moment. "I'm also not going around doing stupid vigilante shit like stopping crime. Was there another way? Perhaps, but I'm going to stand by my actions."

"Fine," Santana sighs she had tried to argue ethics with Charlie but that clearly wasn't working. "What are you going to do about Dottie?"

Charlie was quiet for a moment, "Is this important to you?"

"Yes. Because right now I see you as a monster and I need you to do things that remind me that you have a heart," Santana replies.

**"****Give me her address, I'll think of something."**


	48. Part 03: Chapter 47

"She's going back to Japan or Hong Kong, or wherever she's from."

Santana blinked and looked up to see Jesse St. James standing there with his gross green juice. He was doing a cleanse of some sort or _something_. "Excuse me?"

"Dottie, you know the one with the crazy nonsensical story. She's going back to whichever country she's originally from. Parents probably realized she was lying and you know figured that this was an American teenage influence thing." Jesse said as he took a sip of his juice. "Good work."

"But I didn't really do anything but take notes." Santana pointed out.

"Doesn't matter. You're going to learn how to weed through the fucking _bullshit_. There are plenty of cases like this, and it's good that you get to take a look on how to handle it."

"Doing nothing and hoping that it goes away?" Santana raises a brow, before remembering who she was talking too. "_Sir_."

"You believed her?" Jesse asked incredulously. "Look there will always be people who cry _wolf_. Rape cases, kidnapping, insurance scams and there are _actual _victims. That's why we have prosecutorial discretion, this was a _nothing _case. And we would have wasted resources going after it."

Santana resisted the urge to argue with him, and instead nods. "And if there is a criminal conspiracy?"

"Than that would _make _your career to be the person who took down a shadowy organization, but with that many people supposedly dead? You think someone wouldn't have talked. They would have had to have _families_, parents, siblings who _cared _about them."

"That's where you're stuck? In the United States alone roughly 1500 people are added to the database nearly every day. If a group of scientists disappeared, we probably wouldn't notice." Santana points out bluntly. "She was scared, truly _scared_. You don't fake that, something terrible happened to that girl."

"Are you saying this based on your own experiences?" Jesse asked crossing his arms over his chest. "We never found your kidnapper, did we? Perhaps if we had infinite resources we could chase every _lead_, look into everything, spend a fortune on various situations. But we have a budget like everyone else. Looking into a supposed conspiracy is not high on the list of things we should be doing. If there were other children who were supposedly taken then they should have come forward, our hands are _tied_." Jesse studies her for a quick moment. "Are you certain that this is what you want to do?"

"Getting coffee?" Santana asked.

"No, _this_, you're talented enough you could make a killing in the private sector."

"That's what my girlfriend says, but this is what I want to do," Santana insists. Maybe it was to prove to Charlie that there could be _justice _done, that the system wasn't horribly broken. But there had to be a better way than simply murdering everyone.

"Girlfriend is _right_," Jesse said. "It takes time to build a case and resources, if this shadowy company exists then they have funds, which means powerful lawyers, which means there will be very executives going to prison. It would be dragged out for years."

"And to stop vigilantes?"

"People have morals and are afraid of the consequences of their actions."

"And if they don't?"

"Well it's easier to prosecute someone for murder and vigilante justice then it is to prosecute a massive company." Jesse said with a shrug. "Short of a confession, you're not going to get the instantaneous results, and even then, there's a lot of bargaining."

"But the payoff?"

"Worth it," Jesse says firmly. "So worth it."

Santana nods, "Then that's all that matters to me. I don't really care how hard I have to work to get that payoff."

Jesse nodded, "Alright let's see what you're capable of then. There's a trial at the end of the month and I could use someone as a second chair."

"Really?"

"It's not a massive case by any stretch of the imagination, but it should be more than enough to give you some experience that I'm certain will be invaluable—even still it's a lot of work and if you're not completely up to date on the specifics of the case by the trial date then you won't be joining me."

Santana nodded, that was more than fair. This was her chance, and she nods. "Alright, I'll swing by your office and get the files to read up on it."

Jesse nods and takes a sip of his juice. "See you then."

~O~

Quinn had expected the _pizza _delivery guy not her twin sister standing at her doorway, she wrinkled her nose slightly, "What are you doing here?"

"I can't see my sister?" Charlie prompted.

"Frannie lives in Chicago, which is considerably closer than flying to New York because you're _lonely_." Quinn retorted, moving aside so Charlie could enter. "Is everything okay with Santana?"

"I wouldn't know, I haven't seen her since she came to yell at me for saving her life," Charlie responded as she kicks of her shoes and heads to the couch.

"You saved her life?" Quinn prompts it was the first she had heard of it. "What _happened_?"

Charlie looked around before crossing her legs, "Where is Rachel?"

"Practice ran late, she'll be home soon, which is _why_ I was hoping you were the pizza guy. I had a long shitty day at work and I didn't feel like cooking so—wait why do you need to know where Rachel is?" Quinn said with a small frown.

"So, I can seduce her _obviously_." Charlie retorted, a small smile appears on her features as Quinn narrows her eyes. "_Kidding_. But we can't talk about these things with Rachel in the room, can we?"

Quinn frowned, "No, I guess we can't. But you could have called, or we could have spoken on facetime. What's going on?"

"I was shot, when you visited last I was recovering from a bullet wound. They started the program back up again. They had teenagers in cells," Charlie said slowly. The pleasantness disappearing as if it were just a mask that Charlie had taken off.

"Are there more teenagers like you?"

"No. No dead teens this time. So, I must have caught them early."

"And Santana's upset because you _took_ care of it?"

"This isn't the mob Quinn, but I got angry. No, that's not the right emotion. I was _enraged_. It was pure fury on my part. But I managed to rescue all the teenagers and gave them a warning not to go to the authorities."

"Did they—"

"Sam has decided to be the Alfred to my _Batman_. Whatever that means, he made sure my face was covered."

"Good." Quinn said. "How did Santana find out? You weren't stupid enough to tell her, were you?"

"Of course not, but clearly me warning them didn't do anything because one of the teenagers went to the authorities, or at least her parents dragged her to the authorities. Santana was interning there; the girl's story wasn't believed. But Santana came over to lecture me about ethics and then made me do something to help her."

"Did you?" Quinn frowned. "Of course, you did, Santana asked you too." She said answering her own question when Charlie doesn't say anything. "What did you do?"

"I appeared in front of her parents and gave them a hundred thousand dollars so that they could move back to Japan." Charlie said. "Don't worry the money can't be traced back to me. It's not a lot but it should get them out of the country."

Quinn frowned it was risky, but Charlie was clever enough to cover her tracks. "Okay, and you and Santana argued over this—did that lead to sex again?" When Charlie turned to look at her, "I'm her best friend, and as your sister I'm telling you, that she is _dating _someone."

"We didn't have sex, she left after dinner."

Quinn nodded, "That still doesn't explain why you're here."

"Because I don't know if what I'm doing is the _right_ thing. And Sam only just dumps various comic books onto my table like I'm supposed to read them. This isn't a comic book, and they aren't manuals to tell me what to do."

"The right thing?" Quinn echoes before sighing. "Honestly Charlie? I can't say that I'm happy that you're going around killing people. I think it feeds your darker instincts. But it's your _life_, and the _right thing_ is completely dependent on you. What is it you _desire_? Truly desire."

Charlie looked away for a moment, "Santana," she says after a moment. She would give everything she had just to be with Santana again.

"Then you know what the _right _thing is, you know what Santana wants."

"Sit back and watch as nothing gets done, because she has faith in the justice system." Charlie muttered.

Quinn rolled her eyes, "Fuck the justice system. Do you have faith in Santana?"

Charlie shoots Quinn an annoyed look, "Always."

"You shouldn't," Quinn said with a frown, sighing. Santana needed to be the one to tell Charlie about Frannie. If she interfered it would be the death knell to their relationship. She moves on before Charlie could pick up on it. "Then let her handle it _legally_, she'll go after them. All of them."

"So, until then just let the teenagers die," Charlie said bluntly.

"That's not what I'm—" Quinn turned as she heard the door jiggle, and she gets up. "Rachel probably lost her keys again." Charlie grunted in response and she rolls her eyes and quickly heads to the door opening it for Rachel. "Hey."

"_Hey_," Rachel said flushing a bit. "Forgot my keys."

"Again?" Quinn sighed before nodding towards Charlie, "Guess who decided to stop by."

"Please don't say my dads, I know they're excited to see me perform on Broadway but—" Rachel smiled when she spotted Charlie, who stood up. "_Hey_."

Charlie smiled, and winked at her, "_Hey_."

Rachel flicked her eyes over to Quinn for a moment, "You've been working out."

"Standing, _right _here." Quinn said with a roll of her eyes, as Rachel hugged Charlie. "I think you like her more than you do me."

Rachel laughed at the comment and turned to Charlie, "You hate New York, what are you doing here?"

"A question I've been trying to get her to answer," Quinn muttered.

"Dwight wants me to meet with a hedge fund guy. Apparently, I need to start _diversifying _my portfolio or whatever. Also, he mentioned something about joining the elites of society. I imagine I won't fit in. But I like money, and this will make me more money so I'm doing it." Charlie pauses and flashes a smile at Rachel. "I could always use a date."

Quinn immediately stepped in front of Rachel, "Get your own _girlfriend_."

"Fiancée," Rachel corrected, patting Quinn on the arm. "There is nothing you need to be afraid of Quinn, your sister's heart belongs to Santana. It's a travesty. But I don't mind escorting you."

"_Rachel_."

"Quinn, _free _fancy food."

"Which is probably not _vegan_," Quinn reminded her. "You're on your own Charlie."

Charlie sighed, "Maybe next time."

"Oh, knock it off," Quinn snapped at her twin. She shakes her head.

Charlie shrugs her shoulders and smiles, "Or you can both come, and keep me from embarrassing myself. Or _offending_ anyone."

Quinn sighed, "If I was anyone else, I'd worry about the weird relationship you had with Rachel, but like she said _free _food. And this could be good for you Rachel, networking and stuff."

"You're _right_ some of these people finance all the productions, this could make my career—I need to figure out what to wear." With that Rachel marched into the bedroom, ready to tear it apart.

Quinn sighed, "Really do I have to go?"

"You have a controlling stake in the company Quinn, you probably should. United front and all that."

Quinn sighs again, "_Fine_."


	49. Part 03: Chapter 48

Quinn watched as Charlie and Rachel chatted to each other. She didn't quite understand how Rachel managed to do it, but she generally put Charlie at ease. It bothered her to some extent, Rachel was her chance to finally be happy on her own. To have what Charlie and Santana had even if they were currently broken apart. Despite everyone thinking that it was Rachel that was dragging her feet with this wedding, it was her. How could she marry someone and have all these secrets? She doubted Rachel would go to the police, but Rachel would look at her differently. "Will you two stop flirting in front of me," Quinn said with another sigh.

Rachel smiled, she knew it bothered Quinn, but Charlie was _fun_, she played along. It was rather fun to get under Quinn's skin sometimes, but a quick look let her know that she wasn't in the mood. "I know this isn't your idea of a fun time Quinn, but this could be very beneficial to my career, and I would like them to know that I have a _fiancée_. Some of the people on this list, are some of the biggest producers on Broadway."

"I know, I understand that, but I just want people to know you're _my_ _fiancée, _not Charlie's," Quinn said reaching for Rachel's hand. "I doubt that they'll figure out that we're identical twins."

"I'm sure they'll be able to figure it out," Rachel said looking at Charlie's short hair and Quinn's long one. "You two look nothing alike."

Charlie snorts. "I know, you adore the fact that I have abs. If you want Quinn—"

"_Please_ stop talking," Quinn interrupts, as the car finally comes to a stop.

Charlie turns to look at Rachel, "Sam needs a vacation and a new pet project if you want her to have abs like these call me." She winks at Rachel and steps out of the car when the door is opened for her.

"I know you're in love with my twin, but so you know I'm going to end up murdering her one day in a fit of rage," Quinn says. She blinks when Rachel steals a quick kiss, "You're supposed to be a pacifist," she mutters to her.

"I am, don't kill your sister. You know she has zero interest in me, she just enjoys irritating you. Just like I do," Rachel smiles, looking up when Charlie sticks her head back into the car. "We're coming."

Charlie flicks her eyes to her twin, who rolls her eyes. "_Not_ like you and Santana."

"Shame, you'd be less grumpy." Charlie said dryly.

"She's _impossible_," Quinn sighs as she steps out and extends a hand to Rachel.

"She's family, and I think she wants you to be happy." Rachel says. "I'm surprised she's in such good spirits to be honest."

"Santana hasn't told her," Quinn whispered to Rachel who looked shocked at the statement. "Don't look so surprised. It's Santana."

"Quinn if it's our wedding and this blows up—"

"I'll handle it."

"I'm not asking you to handle it alone Quinn, I'll be with you. We'll just make sure they're both in Chicago and then we'll hide out somewhere nice for a week."

Quinn laughs and takes Rachel's arm in hers, "You're right, I'm not alone," she says as she turns to look at the Hotel, "Is it terrible that I don't really want to spend thousands upon thousands of dollars on this event. Yeah Charity is important, but this is just a bunch of super rich people networking and entering a pissing match with one another."

"You're right of course, why do you think I've been working Charlie so hard all evening. We won't have to spend a penny at this event. We can look fabulously wealthy and like we belong."

Quinn laughed, causing Charlie to turn to look at them. "I love you," she mumbles.

"I love you more," Rachel says with a smile.

Charlie rolled her eyes as she checked in, watching as both Quinn and Rachel managed to grab a glass of champagne. She ran a hand through her hair and stops one of the servers. "Something non-alcoholic?"

"You can get it at the bar," the server.

Charlie nods and turns to Rachel and Quinn to let them know, where she was going but they were gone, and she scans the room to see that Rachel is talking to an old man rather animatedly. She groans and heads to the bar by herself, she was right this was _not _her scene. "Water please," she says towards the bartender.

"Not a drinker?"

Charlie blinks and turns to look at the person who spoke, "Not anymore. Empty calories, my personal trainer is rather sadistic at times," Charlie said taking the water and turning her body, so she could face the person properly.

"Charlie Fabray, right? You were in Forbes. CEO of a logistics company, which you started in high school? Impressive."

Charlie nodded, "One of my senior executives made me go," Charlie says taking a sip of her water. "I'm sorry you have me at a disadvantage—"

"Sue, Sue Sylvester," Sue said extending her hand. "You should probably pay a bit more attention to politics, I ran for president as a Republican."

Charlie didn't say anything immediately before smiling at Sue and shaking the outstretched hand, "Since I didn't get vetted by the Secret Service, I'm going to assume that you lost?"

"I did, didn't even get past the primary," Sue chuckles. "Whatever public service isn't for me, I'd much rather be in the one percent. You understand how it is don't you?"

"I do," Charlie says after a moment. "There are a lot of things I did to get to where I am today. But you have to eat, and I had to help my sister through school. Now I run a logistics company."

"Because you pulled yourself up by your bootstraps, it's the American _dream_. And America is _great_." Sue said motioning for the bartender.

Charlie doesn't say anything, "So what exactly is it that you do? Who do you work for? Those are the types of questions you're supposed to ask at these things? I apologize, I'm new to this whole _Networking _thing, the real brains behind my operation is CAO. He's also the one making me learn to do this."

"You're looking at the new VP of Titan Industries Research and Development, it's been a long time coming. The previous VP was killed in a mugging gone wrong."

"My condolences," Charlie said as Rachel enters her peripheral vision dragging Quinn with her. "It was a pleasure to talk to you, but I must see what my future sister-in-law wants."

"Before you go, how did you do it?"

Charlie stops and turns to look at Sue, "Excuse me?"

Sue gently stirred her drink in her hand. "I never forget a face experiment number 1875. Were you the only one that lived?"

Charlie's smile is almost demonic as she looks at Sue. "I am," She says calmly. "Thank you for the confirmation that I need. Now if you'll—" Sue grabbed onto her arm stopping her and forcing Charlie to look at her.

"_How_?"

"How?" Charlie repeats, leaning in and whispering into Sue's ear. "The same way I'm going to kill you," she wrenches her arm free and turns to head to Rachel and Quinn pushing a smile onto her face. Her skin tingled in anticipation and she could feel her heart rate starting to pick up.


	50. Part 03: Chapter 49

She was _spiraling_. Other people couldn't see it, not his father, not Charlie's assistant or her secretary. She was very good at hiding it, but he'd known her the longest out of anyone in the office. He'd _seen _her spiralling like this before but never like _this_. She was crossing lines with little thought of the consequences, and he was certain she'd crossed the line in the past few weeks since she'd been back from New York. She'd been _different_, and at first, he had thought that she was finally realizing the responsibilities of her position, and actually reading the reports that landed on her desk every day.

He had been _wrong_.

Sam tilts his head slightly, looking at the man who had just entered Charlie's office, and frowns slightly. They had been in the middle of a meeting—well he'd been lecturing her about her terrible eating habits as of late. She wasn't even putting any effort into working out like they had done. Charlie had ignored him, _she _always had before but the way she perked up when the strange man entered her office was slightly disconcerting.

"How did it go?" Charlie asked getting up and taking the thick folder that was handed to her.

"There was nothing suspicious to report, no one _new_. I have the pictures that you requested, are you _certain_ you want to make an _extension_? I mean the money is good on my end, but she seems to live a rather low-_risk _life. School, girlfriend, parents."

"I do, just for a little while longer," Charlie says as she opens the folder and sits back down. "At least I'm certain that she's safe."

"Understood," the private investigator said calmly nodding his head toward Sam before leaving.

Sam turned in his seat to watch him go, making sure the door was closed before turning back to Charlie who was currently flipping through a stack of photos of her _ex-girlfriend_. He takes a breath, he was Charlie's friend, and one of her closest confidants which is why he had no problem calling her out. "I'm pretty sure what you're doing could be considered a form of harassment if not _stalking_." Charlie stopped flipping through the photos and the action caused Sam to pause, wondering if she was going to lash out at him. He swallows before licking his lips and meeting Charlie's gaze.

"I'm not stalking _Santana_."

"Are you certain? I mean you're currently have a PI, keeping tabs on her and taking photos. If you're not stalking, you've _definitely_ crossed some sort of line when it comes to your relationship with Santana," Sam said forcibly. She was definitely spiraling if she couldn't make this simple connection, and he didn't want her to do anything rash or stupid. "Charlie are you—"

Charlie narrowed her eyes as she looked up at him causing him to stop talking, "That party that your father made me go to—I met a very interesting person there. Sue Sylvester, she's a vice president in Titan Industries, you probably haven't heard of them. But to keep this story short, they have multiple divisions, and one of them was tasked was looking into other dimensions, or as they call it the singularity."

"You found them?" Sam asked, his voice small as he stared at Charlie. Maybe she _hadn't _been spiraling—but he couldn't shake the feeling that Charlie was going to do something _very_ illegal. "What does any of that have to do with you having a PI, following Santana around and taking pictures."

"Because Sue Sylvester knew _exactly_ who I was Sam, and I know I'm under surveillance. I'm trying to see if Santana is as well without getting involved."

"Thank god," Sam said releasing a breath of air that he didn't know he'd been holding. When Charlie looks at him sharply, he points to the folder. "I'm not saying that any of _that _is good news, but I'm glad you're not stalking Santana."

Charlie raised a brow, "She _needs_ to know, but I _can't_ be the one that talks to her. I don't know if they're tapping my phones—let alone anything else. I got some anti-listening devices in the office, but I just can't appear at Santana's place and explain this. It puts her in danger and unlike me Santana uses her abilities for small inconsequential things mostly. I've been using _it _to move around as of late. But I still don't want to go over there. I'd never forgive myself if I put her in their crosshairs."

Sam nods, Charlie was worried. He would be too if he was in her shoes. "Do you want me to have this conversation with her? She needs to hear it from someone don't you think?"

Charlie hesitated for a moment, she couldn't just leave Santana in the dark on this, but she would insist on trying to handle this through the _justice_ system. She sighs, Santana needed to know, in case anything happened to her. As much as she wanted to keep Santana safe, she wasn't sure what would happen to her and Santana needed to be prepared. "Yes. Do _it_."

Sam nodded, "I'll make it happen. I'll leave out the bit about you having her followed, which you should _totally_ stop by the way. What are you going to do about Titan Industries?"

"I don't know yet."

"Really?" Sam frowned watching as Charlie flicked through more photos. "You don't know?"

"I need names and I need people, as easy as it would be to destroy everything and everyone in that building, I can't imagine that everyone in Titan Industries was involved. So, I have to be smart about this." Charlie looked up at him, "I'm fine Sam."

"You sure?" Sam pressed. "You know how you get when you use your powers non-stop—"

"I'm _fine _Sam, I just—" Charlie stared at the photo in front of her for a moment. She wasn't quite sure why the PI had taken a picture of _Frannie_, but there she was.

"You just—?" Sam prompts immediately.

Charlie begins to flip through the photos her breath catching, as she studies the photos of Santana and Frannie, stopping on the picture of them exchanging a kiss and she freezes. She didn't quite understand what they were doing _together_. It was _Frannie_ and Santana—she barely notices that Sam is now behind her, or that he's pulling the folder out from her hands.

"Seeing pictures of Santana with her girlfriend is only going to upset you Charlie, I know you think you can handle it but it's okay if you can't. These things are _hard_ and—" the entire building began to quake, knocking things off Charlie's desk and sending him flying to the ground.

Charlie's glass table shatters into her lap, but she doesn't notice or _care_. Santana and Frannie? It didn't make sense to her. She could understand Santana not _knowing, _but Frannie? This felt like some plot to get back at her. She was just using Santana, that _had _to be the situation. She would just have to simply make Frannie disappear—

Cold water was dumped onto her head and she turns to glare at Sam who held her gaze. "You're going to bring the building down on all of us. So _please _calm down." The building stopped quaking and Sam took a breath relaxing for a moment.

"Did you know?"

Sam shivered, there was a coolness to her voice that he had never heard before. "Know about what?" Sam asked.

"Frannie and Santana—_did you know_?"

"No," Sam replied honestly pausing. "Who the fuck is Frannie?"

"My sister," Charlie answered, feeling her anger rising again. It would make sense that Sam wouldn't know, but Quinn _probably_ did. She had thought she could trust Quinn, with everything but she was clearly colluding with Frannie. She had no idea why Quinn had wanted to let that snake back into their lives.

"Oh." Sam said before Charlie looked at him again, "_Oh_." Sam flinches as Charlie gets up, sending shards of glass flying. He resists the urge to stop her, but she was angry, and people generally ended up dead when Charlie was angry. He gathers up his courage and quickly moves in front of Charlie blocking her exit.

"_Move_."

"After you promise that you're not going to hurt anyone," Sam said immediately, he closed his eyes as Charlie raised her hand slowly. "You said you didn't give a shit about who Santana dated." He opened his eye, nothing had happened to him which probably meant that Charlie was—gone. She had left him standing here. "Well, _shit_." He winces and looks at the office, noting that everyone had looked terrified that an earthquake had hit. It was a mess that Charlie had left him, but he needed to give Quinn a heads up to give Santana one, since he didn't have her number, then he was going to help with the evacuation and think of a believable excuse as to where Charlie was.


	51. Part 03: Chapter 50

Santana pulled out her phone to look at the message from Charlie one last time as she entered the elevator that would take her to Charlie's apartment. _**My place.**_ It was a summons, which had come right after a long day at work. The only reason she had chosen to show up was because she was curious about Charlie's _audacity_. She was lucky that Frannie had cancelled their dinner for the night due to a deposition that was running late. Which was the only reason she was even stopping by.

The elevator dings, and she steps out, pausing at the fact that Charlie's door was ajar. She hesitates for a moment before pushing the door open wide, she could hear the steady almost rhythmic beating of Charlie using her punching bag and she sighs. Family _drama_, probably Russell drama she could handle that. She makes her way to the makeshift gym after grabbing some water from Charlie's fridge. She watches Charlie move dancing around the heavy bag for a moment and bites her lip slightly. Feeling that _pull_ from being around Charlie, "So what did your father do this time?"

Charlie stops moving catching the heavy bag and turning to look at Santana, "This has nothing to do with my father." It was funny she had been keeping him under surveillance to make sure that her newest sister was safe from him, she had never seen this particular betrayal coming.

"Okay so then what's this—"

"_I know_."

Santana blinked twice, before frowning. "Look Charlie, I've got a bunch of shit to do, if you're going to be _cryptic_, then I'm just going to leave. I do not have time for cryptic bullshit." With that, Santana crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes at Charlie.

Charlie pulled off her gloves and tossed them onto a wooden bench. "Have you heard of Titan Industries?" She asked her voice even as she brushes by Santana and heads to the kitchen.

Santana frowned, she knew a power move when she saw one. This wasn't Charlie's usual behavior, but she'd play along for now. "No? Is that some giant acquisition you're about to make—"

"They're the ones responsible," Charlie answered briskly. She turns ever so slightly, noting that Santana's body had gone rigid. She waits and pours herself a drink, studying Santana carefully.

"I—" Her throat goes dry and she looks at Charlie, no wonder she'd been cryptic on the phone and no wonder she was acting odd. "How are you certain?"

Charlie takes a sip of her drink. "Sue Sylvester that name ring any bells? Probably not it was _years _ago. She's the new VP of Titan Industries Research and Development. She casually mentioned my experiment number. In other words, _she _recognized me. Never forgets a face, she said. I promised to kill her. I simply haven't gotten around to it yet."

There was a cavalier way in which Charlie said those words, that causes her to shudder. "Absolutely _not_, we can't just go around _killing_ people."

"_You_ can't go around killing people." Charlie corrects. "I have absolutely no problem doing such a thing."

There was an edge to her voice and Santana frowns, "You've been using your abilities—"

"I'm _not _spiraling," Charlie snapped at her slamming her hand hard against the countertop, causing a crack to appear in the granite. She looks at it for a moment making a face and pulling her hand back.

Santana places her hand on the crack and fixes it, filling the gaps as she looks at Charlie, "Okay Rambo, you're _not _spiraling. Look this is _huge _news and you're not taking it well."

"I've _known_ for weeks, I would have told you immediately, but I didn't want to put you in their cross-hairs. They started surveilling me don't worry _I handled it_." Charlie said simply as she motions to the folder that was on the coffee table.

Santana makes a face, "You've known for weeks and you didn't tell me?" she asked moving to check the folder. "What if I was in danger or—"

"That's why I didn't show up at your place, to _protect _you. I was always going to tell you—"

"When? Before or after you murdered everyone." Santana says as she flicks open the folder, her heart drops when she sees a photo of her leaving from the office. "_They know about me_?"

"As far as I'm aware _no_," Charlie said. "My _guy_ put you under surveillance, to make sure that if they found you I'd know immediately."

"You were watching me?" She felt violated at the information, Charlie was an _ex_ how could she possibly think that it was _okay_?

"You don't _get _to be angry today Santana, I _know_." With that Charlie marched over and placed her hand on the photos in the folder and moved them until the photo of her and Frannie kissing is shown.

Santana stared at the photo in question for a moment, feeling her heart drop into her stomach. She swallows though it feels heavy in her throat, she couldn't look at Charlie. "I _tried_ to tell you. I wanted to tell you, but you didn't want to _hear_ it."

"Really. _Really_, you're going to try and blame this on _me_?" Charlie snapped angrily knocking over the photos onto the ground. A large crack suddenly appears in Charlie's television causing Santana to jump.

She didn't know what she had expected when Charlie found out. Probably more _yelling_, tears, some emotion that she could understand. Sure, Charlie sounded angry, but it had been heavily reigned in and that made the situation far more troubling. "Charlie," Santana said turning to look at her. "I can explain."

It's a confirmation of sorts and Charlie pulls back, her shoulders slumping as she clenches her fist. "So, you fucking _knew_ who she was and let her fuck you _anyway_."

Santana licked her lips, there was no point in trying to explain her side of things, Charlie would only hear what she wanted. She should have said something, she should have made Charlie _listen_ before she had found out like this. "Charlie let me—"

"So, tell me, when we _fucked _the last time, were you with her?" When Santana looks away, it's the only answer she needs and the dam breaks. "Of all the people on this fucking planet, why the fuck did it need to be _Frannie_?"

Santana immediately grabbed Charlie's hand holding onto it tightly, hoping that their connection would stop Charlie from spiralling further down the hill. "Charlie, I'm sorry. I should have said something, I should have broken up with her after I found out who she was—"

Charlie jerks her hand away, "But you _didn't_. Tell me does she _fuck _you better than I do? Is that why you're with her? Or is it because Frannie is so _god damn_ perfect?"

Santana moved to get up, "Charlie this is on me—"

"Did Quinn know?"

"No," it's a lie, but she needed to contain this situation. She needed to keep Charlie's anger focused completely on her. "Quinn didn't know."

"You're lying," Charlie said immediately, her mind racing. "They _knew _when they showed up at my place last, that's why you wanted to talk about their stupid wedding."

"Charlie—" Santana says reaching for Charlie again, only for Charlie to swat her hands away. It doesn't stop her from trying again, "I'm sorry. I should have told you. Quinn demanded that I tell you, but I didn't want you to think—"

"That she's better than me?" Charlie scoffed shoving Santana away and pulling back as the rage builds up, before it quickly flatlined. She knew _exactly_ how to make this go away, how to make _Frannie _go away. "I'm going to kill her," she said plainly.

Santana swallows, she didn't want to ask Charlie to elaborate as she pulls Charlie close and leans up to kiss her, praying that this would work. But instead she gets shoved back hard, as she lands on the couch. She had definitely thought it would work, using their bond to calm Charlie down but it hadn't. Charlie looked enraged and things in the room begin to crack and bend over. "You don't have to kill Frannie Charlie, I'll break up with her I'll never see her again. I'll be just _yours_, that's what you want right—"

"Is that what you think I want? You think I'm upset that you're dating someone else? I was fine, I was _dealing _with it, I was giving you your fucking space because I could handle it like a goddamn adult. What I can't handle is you fucking my _sister_ Santana." Charlie snaps, she shakes her head, maybe it was the first time she was seeing Santana. She had assumed that Santana had loved her but that was clearly false. Everything she _knew _was a lie. All the people that she was supposed to trust were liars _and traitors_. And she couldn't trust anyone anymore. "You know what _keep_ her." She suddenly felt mentally fatigued. As far as she was concerned she was done trying to protect people who didn't give a shit about how she felt about things. With all the strength she could muster she opened a portal into the void and walked in, closing it before Santana could follow her.

Santana stared at where Charlie had just been, dumbfounded. It takes her a moment to pick up her phone and text Frannie to make sure that she wasn't dead. It doesn't take more than a second later till Frannie texts back and Santana lets out a sigh of relief.

~O~

Things were going _well _for Sue Sylvester, it wouldn't be long until she could rise through the corporate ranks once again. She flicked her eyes over the data that they had collected on Experiment 1875, if they could figure out _why_ she was alive then it was possible that they could finally figure out _how _to go into the singularity unharmed.

Kidnapping a CEO of a logistics company on the other hand would be _difficult_, Charlotte Fabray's profile was only growing and there would be questions asked and an investigation. There would be too many eyes on this case if Charlie suddenly disappeared. Which meant that they needed to proceed with caution.

She looks up at her phone that's ringing on her desk and picks it up, perhaps it was the CEO with _more _good news. "This is Sue," she says plainly, listening intently as a panicked voice fills her ear. She yanks the phone back for a moment, "_Calm down_," she barks into the phone, and waits while the person on the other line takes a deep breath.

'_They're all dead.'_

Sue frowned, "What? Who is dead?" Charlie Fabray had a rough past, but she was a CEO, there was no way she got her hands _dirty_.

'_We lost track of her, there seemed to be some sort of incident at the Dimensional Deliveries main HQ, entire building was evacuated tremors or something—but we lost track of her. That's when all the radios begin to go silent. I went to check on them—every man and woman who was surveilling her, they're gone Sue.'_

"That doesn't mean that they're dead, they could have just been taken—"

'_Sue, there was a body part at each location, an arm—a leg, a head—cleanly cut this was in broad daylight. They're all dead.'_

Sue's mouth went dry and her eyes widened, Charlie had made it very clear that she was coming for her, and it was clear she had the means to do so. Maybe she knew a _cartel_ or something of the sort.

'_Sue? What do you want us to do—' _

"Pull back, every team that you have on her pull back. Consider this matter closed for now." Sue said the more bodies that dropped, the more attention it would bring on the company. For now, she would need to look into Dimension Deliveries and more closely into Charlie Fabray. She'd also need to increase her security ten-fold.

She had thought that Charlie had been bluffing when she had uttered that death threat, but to see a team of former cops, soldiers and mercenaries wiped out so completely in _broad_ daylight no less—it terrified the crap out of her. Who was Charlie working with? Who had that type of fire power?


	52. Part 04: Chapter 51

"You know we can be adults about this."

Santana visibly winced before standing up straight and turning to look at her ex-girlfriend. She'd been avoiding her for the past twenty moments ever since Frannie had arrived. "I'm not doing this because I'm afraid you're going to start something Frannie, I just—it's sort of _awkward_ and I want to avoid awkwardness."

"Because you dumped me because Charlie threw a _tantrum_," Frannie said with a mirthless laugh. "She's not even coming. I mean from what I hear Rachel had to put her foot down or Quinn would have continued waiting for Charlie to come around. Can't say I blame her it's been two years."

Santana didn't reply immediately; it was a rather cruel dismissal of Charlie's feelings. This wasn't a simple tantrum; Charlie hadn't spoken to Quinn in two years. A fact which had nearly destroyed her own friendship with Quinn. She couldn't even _blame _Quinn for being upset. Quinn had insisted that she tell Charlie before Charlie found out on her own. This had been a completely avoidable situation if she hadn't been afraid of hurting Charlie's feelings. "Charlie felt betrayed," she says after a moment. "I should have told her, maybe then she'd be here. You know Quinn wants her here."

Frannie turned to look at Quinn who was making the rounds with Rachel greeting people. "Don't defend her she's a _fucking _adult, it shouldn't matter who you were dating."

"If I were dating Quinn she wouldn't care. She cares because it's _you_," Santana retorted. "I should have told her; I could have controlled the situation instead of Charlie freaking out about being betrayed at how everyone knew." Santana said with a shrug of her shoulders. "I _fucked _up. And since this is an open bar, I'm going to go drink away my problems." Santana shrugged, frowning when Frannie moves to intervene. "We're not dating anymore, I'm not your problem."

"I know that, but I did want to congratulate you for passing the bar. I know it's a year late, but _congrats_. The States Attorney's office is lucky to have you." Frannie said before stepping aside to let her pass.

Santana's shoulder slump for a moment, being with Frannie had been easy, but staying with Frannie—she wasn't sure what Charlie would do if she had stayed. She heads to the bar, and spots Sam standing by the bar. She hadn't expected him to be here, Sam was one of the few people who had managed to escape Charlie's irritation and was still in her circle of trust. "I need to get drunk _fast_. So, keep the shots of tequila coming until you legally have to cut me off."

The bartender blinked at her orders and nodded before moving to grab the tequila. She turns to look at Sam who was nursing a beer. "I didn't think she'd let you come Trouty Mouth," Santana says after downing the first shot. "You here because of the free food and booze like I am?"

"I'm here because I am Quinn's friend, I mean I can't tell her shit about Charlie. I did however make sure she got the invitations, and I had her assistant put it in her calendar."

"How is she?"

Sam frowned and looked at her, "I can't tell you that. You know I can't tell you that or I'm not going to be able to help her."

"I don't need to know if she's _fucking _anyone or her life story, I just want to know if she's okay." Santana retorted in a snarky tone.

"What do you think?" Sam responded. "You were dating her _sister_, and not even the sister that she at the time _liked_. You dated the one that treated Charlie like _shit_. Who thinks she's better than her? All things considered Santana—given Charlie's penchant for violence—Frannie's still alive Santana. It's a win."

"This isn't a _win_, Quinn isn't at fault for any of this it's—" Santana tilts her head to the door, that familiar sense of warmth and that only happened when Charlie was in the vicinity. She takes another shot and drains tapping the bar for another. "She's here."

Sam turned to look at her. "What?" Sam turned to look around, he couldn't quite believe it. "I didn't think she was coming."

"_Shit_, I wasn't prepared for this," Santana muttered pushing the shot glass away, the alcohol hadn't hit her yet. She immediately hesitates, she knew she looked fine, but she can't help but jab Sam in the side causing him to look at her. "How do I look?"

"Fine?" Sam shrugged. He swallows when Santana glares at him. "Beautiful? I don't know what you want me to say."

Santana's about to snap at him when the door to the private room opens, causing quite a few people to turn. Not that she could blame them, Charlie was _late_. Not even fashionably so. Dinner had already been served, and it was just a party now. For a moment her eyes lock on with Charlie's and she shoots a small smile at her, which quickly fades when a familiar face breaks the look, by walking past Charlie. She can practically feel Sam attempting to make his escape and she grabs at him. "Sam? What the _fuck_ is Dani Harper doing here?"

"Santana, I don't control who Charlie sees and I stay the _fuck_ out of her love life. If you want to know what Dani's doing here then go ask her." He hisses before Charlie can see him with Santana. There needed to be someone in Charlie's life that kept her from completely losing it. He had just managed to convince her to stop using her abilities. While Charlie couldn't fire him, he didn't really want to be frozen out of her life either.

Santana lets Sam go and watches as Charlie who was dressed in a perfectly tailored suit with a pair of white sneakers approaches Quinn—and she realizes she's holding her breath, as are quite a few people in the room.

"Congratulations Quinn—_Rachel_," Charlie says loud enough for most people to hear her as she pulls Quinn into a hug. The hug lasts for a few seconds, far longer than it should have before Charlie pulls back and turns to Rachel, and flashes a smile.

Rachel looks confused before sighing, "You didn't RSVP."

"It was a surprise, and I know you saved me a seat," Charlie says with a simple shrug. Like she hadn't been gone for the past two years.

But Rachel didn't seem like she was interested in letting Charlie off the hook. "It's only polite to _RSVP_, it shouldn't take me emailing you a _million _times to get you to come to your _twin's_ wedding." She sighs after a moment, "I did save you a seat for tomorrow. It's in the back though."

Quinn blinks as the shock wears off, "Rachel we can move some people around and—"

"It's fine Quinn," Charlie interrupts with a wave of her hand.

"Charlie—" Quinn frowned when Charlie's gaze sharpened for a moment, causing her to take a step back.

"It's _fine_, I'll have to leave early tomorrow. I have an important meeting that I can't cancel, and being in the back lets me slip out. Don't worry though I'll give a rather funny toast." Charlie explains. She pauses for a moment and looks down at the hand on her arm, and turns to look at Dani for a moment. "Hmm?"

"I saw some chairs in the back, how about you head down. I'm just going to freshen up."

There was an unreadable expression on Charlie's face for a moment before she gives a quick nod and turns back to Quinn, who was looking between the two of them. "I hope you don't mind I brought a plus one, but she is the reason that I'm here."

"It's fine," Quinn says quickly. "I'm just glad _you're _here. I didn't think you'd come."

Charlie shrugs her shoulders as Rachel quickly interjects, "We're both glad that you could make it, you shouldn't be a stranger Charlie, and I for one am _happy_ that you've got a speech prepared. Would you like to go first? It's almost time for them."

Charlie shrugged her shoulders once more, before nodding.

~ O ~

Santana licked her lips, feeling the thick lump in her throat. She shouldn't _care _what Charlie did or _who _she did, they'd been broken up for years. And she was the _last _person, the absolute _last _person who could say anything about it. She had _dated _Frannie of all people. But Dani Harper fed Charlie's worst instincts. "_Shit_. Shit. _Shit_." She said rubbing her head.

The door to the bathroom opens and Santana looks up to see Dani who stops and stares at her. "Sorry—look, I'll find another—"

"I would have thought you'd be _gloating_," Santana interrupts. "I should have known she would have gone straight back into _your _arms."

"You slept with Frannie," Dani reminded her plainly. "You're the one that hurt her _badly_. And I know you've reached out, but she wasn't ready to hear it, but you should. You know, _keep _trying to apologize. She didn't want to be here because she _knew _you'd be here. But she's here now, so I guess that's a start, right?"

Santana scowled, "Why should I take your advice? You've been a thorn in my side since we were _teenagers_."

"Well, one would think that the person who is currently having sex with the person you supposedly love—though that's debatable—would be the one you should listen to. "

She shouldn't be angry, but the words have their intended effect and she can't help but get into Dani's face, "You don't _know _Charlie like I do, so she has sex with you. So? You don't _know _her and you don't _know _what we went through _together_."

Dani pushes Santana's hands away, "I don't know why you're lecturing me about it Santana. You _knew _it would hurt her. You knew that Frannie was Charlie's sister, and you did it anyway. Say what you want about me, I know I've done some shitty things but I mean whatever I did pales in comparison to what you did to her." She immediately holds up her hand before Santana can retort, "Look, I know you think I'm the enemy, but I'm _not_. She's not the _same _person we fought over back then. Whatever you did to her _broke her_, and I thought that I could put the pieces back and she'd _love me_. That she'd realize that we were supposed to be together, but Charlie doesn't—won't ever love me the way I want her too. If I did what you did, Charlie wouldn't _care. _You know she wouldn't because she doesn't give a shit about me."

Santana frowns, "So why are you with her?"

"That's my _business_, not yours," Dani said immediately before turning away from her, "I'm going to go stand beside her, you need to _talk _to her. You know I'm right Santana." With that said Dani opened the door and left the bathroom leaving Santana standing there.


	53. Part 04: Chapter 52

**Chapter 52**

"Maybe we should take pictures with your parents first, and Santana can go and find Charlie. She probably wasn't aware that we wanted to take the photos now," Quinn said wincing when Rachel shot her an exasperated look.

"If Charlie wants to continue to act like a toddler throwing a tantrum, I don't see why Santana needs to find her so we can _pretend _that our side of the family isn't filled with _criminals_." Frannie stated looking at Quinn.

Quinn turns to look at her sister for a moment, "I can't leave, and I know asking you to look for her is a very stupid idea."

"And sending Santana isn't? I mean for fucks sake Quinn, she showed up dressed in all black and in white sneakers. She sat in the back didn't do anything, she didn't help with the wedding planning like I did, I doubt she gave you a gift. It's clear to everyone she's only doing this for _appearances_ Quinn and you need to stop—"

"_Stop_." Santana said holding up her hands. "I'll go look for her, you're right she probably didn't know about the photos."

Quinn let out a loud sigh and looked at Santana, Santana could _always _tell when Charlie was still around. Saying that probably meant that Charlie was nearby. "Thank you."

Before Frannie could argue with her choice, she immediately takes off following her instincts. Charlie was still within the general area, at least that's what it felt like and she just lets the familiar _pull_ work, heading to where she had last seen Charlie. She turns and follows the sensation that she's getting closer and pauses when she smells cigarette smoke. It doesn't take her long to spot Charlie sitting on a nearby bench a cigarette between her lips as she stared at the sky. She had never been so glad to see Charlie alone before, but she was just sitting there.

Her fancy suit had been unbuttoned and looked slightly ruffled and she didn't seem bothered enough to lift her head to look at her. "Quinn's looking for you," Santana says frowning when Charlie moves only to tap the ash away from her cigarette. "I thought you quit," When Charlie doesn't answer she scowls. "You're being childish."

"Or, _perhaps_ I simply don't want to be anywhere near you. And if I continue to ignore you, perhaps you'll go away," Charlie replies, bringing the cigarette back to her lips and reaching for her pack of cigarettes that's hidden inside one of her pockets.

Santana makes a face she had never liked the smell that lingered, but she takes a seat beside Charlie. There were so many things she could say to Charlie, but there was one thing Charlie still probably cared about. "I've been looking into Titan Industries; I mean on my own."

Charlie paused for a moment before flicking away her cigarette and finding her lighter. "There are easier ways to die," Charlie says after lighting her cigarette.

Santana ignored the jibe, "I'm surprised that they're all still alive, Sue—the people who were above her, the people who probably gave the orders—" Santana frowned when Charlie stood up.

"You have a career and you have a _family_ you care about deeply. You shouldn't be fucking with Titan," Charlie said calmly.

"Why do you give a shit? I thought you hated me," Santana asked watching as Charlie stiffened. She had struck a nerve but she didn't know how Charlie would react if she kept pressing on it. "Look, I've told you from day one, that I want to bring them to justice. I know you want to kill them all and be done with it, but I don't think that's good enough. I want them to _suffer_ just like we did. I want them to feel that terror that we felt, to wonder if we'd ever see our loved ones again."

Once again, she was met with silence on Charlie's part, she thought it would open her up but she was wrong. Perhaps she should have continued pushing the talk about whatever relationship they could have. Things were so broken between them she wasn't sure she could put the pieces back together. "Thank you—I don't know what stayed your hand, but I'm glad that Titan is still standing and the people that are responsible are still alive." When Charlie doesn't reply or even acknowledge her presence, she sighs and gets up. "Pictures are at the back. You should come unless you want Rachel to find you, and you know how she gets."

This finally elicits some emotion from Charlie who smiles and for a moment Santana thinks she's willing to push her luck before she puts out her cigarette. She walks behind Santana following her slowly, and stretching out.

Santana hesitates for a moment, "Look, I get not forgiving me. I _understand_ why you would hate me, but Quinn is my best friend and your sister. When she found out she bitched at me everyday to talk to you about it. She didn't approve. You need to know that she didn't approve of it and told me multiple times that Frannie was just a stand-in for you. You're—"

"We're _not_ the same." Charlie cut her off. "I _show up_. She doesn't."

"That's not what I—" Santana frowned, she was tired and this wasn't worth the effort. "I'm sorry, you're right. You're not her. All I'm trying to say is that Quinn didn't tell you because she wanted me to do it. I get being upset with her for a little while but cutting her out like you did, treating her like this was some deep betrayal—hurt her. She missed you. So even if you can't forgive me, _try_ and forgive Quinn."

Charlie scoffed as they finally slow down and watch Quinn and Rachel taking a few candid shots with their photographer. She resists the urge to pull out a cigarette while she waited.

"Okay now you should get one with your sisters," Rachel said loud enough that both Frannie and Charlie turned to her.

Quinn blinked and her head swivelled to look at her new wife. This wasn't what they had discussed at all. "_Rachel_—"

"I know I promised to stay out of it, but this is ridiculous. You three are incredibly lucky to have one another. I say this as someone who grew up as an only child."

"I'd love to," Frannie says with an easy shrug her eyes flicking towards Santana for a moment. She frowns when Santana immediately looks away. "But you know how Charlie can get—"

"Frannie, that's _enough_." Quinn snaps, rebuking her older sister. She glances at Charlie for a moment, frowning she couldn't read her twin at all and she quickly moves to step in between Charlie and Frannie for a moment in case Charlie lost her temper. "Look we can take a few pictures with the two of us and then—"

Charlie shrugged her shoulders after a moment. "I don't care."

"Charlie?" Quinn prompts.

"It should bother me, but I mean now that I think about it. It doesn't. I mean how pathetic do you have to be to want to be with your _younger _sister's ex-girlfriend? I imagine it must suck to know that you couldn't find anyone your own age that wanted to be with you." Charlie said, she could hear the sharp intake of breath from several people around her.

Frannie saw _red_, "Are you fucking kidding me? You know I was the better girlfriend."

Santana sees the dark amusement flash through Charlie's eyes, and she knows exactly what Charlie is about to throw in Frannie's face. "Charlie _please_." She doesn't expect Charlie to show any mercy, she had the upper hand against Frannie, and could easily destroy her confidence with a few words. She doesn't expect Charlie to shrug her shoulders and look at Quinn.

"So where are we taking these pictures?" Charlie asked side stepping Frannie and looking at Quinn.

Quinn hesitates for a moment, before entering Charlie's personal space and fixes her collar. "Do you want Dani in the picture?" She mumbles.

"Do you?" Charlie asks with a shrug. "She had to go, her mother is sick in the hospital, she sends her congrats or _something_."

Quinn didn't say anything, but nods, when Charlie's collar doesn't look as wrinkled as before. "Just a few photos—would it kill you to smile in them?"

"Perhaps," Charlie said with a shrug as she lets Quinn tug her towards the photographer. "Is it off limits to flirt with your wife now?"

Quinn relaxes at Charlie's tone, "If I say yes, you're going to do it anyway. If I say no, you're going to do it. I don't win in any scenario. Though you might have to placate Rachel, if you plan to flirt with her."

"Should I take off my shirt or—" Charlie dodged Quinn's swat and flashed a small smile at Rachel who huffed at this. "I can do it with Frannie if you want. Just you know you need to be in between us."

"No, I want to do this with you first, we can do one with her later." Quinn stated clearly looking at Rachel. Charlie and her needed to reach some semblance of normal. "I'm sorry."

"Not your fault," Charlie says with a shrug. "But I needed to figure some shit out."

"With Dani?" Quinn prompts putting on a smile.

"With whoever, I needed someone to stop the bleeding, so I found someone who could. It's transactional, these days." Charlie replied between photos.

Quinn glances over at Santana for a moment, "She _needs_ you—"

"Don't."

Quinn nods at Charlie's curt tone. She had made an attempt and had been properly rebuffed by Charlie. "You need her, more than you need Dani."

The photographer nods and Charlie pulls away from Quinn immediately.


	54. Part 04: Chapter 53

"You did what?" Sue asked nearly dropping her phone. She couldn't hide her anxiety at the information that had just been imparted to her, and she could feel her stomach cramping as a cold shiver passed over her body as she wondered how they could be so _irresponsible_. She had thought that they had agreed to _stop_ pulling the tiger's tail. There were already thirty bodies on ice in one of their research facilities, and at last count there were fifteen people missing.

_Missing_. She was certain that that they were dead. How Charlotte Fabray was managing this was beyond them, but they all _knew _who it was. They had made an assumption that she was working with the cartels or something along those lines but they hadn't found a connection.

'_It's the only option that we have at present. It's the smartest play that we have, there's a history of abuse there. We need stop wasting our resources and let the full force of the United States Justice system come down on her. The plan is already set, so you just need to get on board."_

"She's only gone after those who have come after her, what's to stop her from going on the offensive? We have eyes on her at all times, and our people still end up missing or dead." Sue said glancing around her office, Charlie _knew _things that were classified, and yet they had no idea how. It had been a mistake confronting her all those years ago.

'_The full weight of the US Justice system Sue. At the very least it would put a strain on her finances. Her father is a criminal even if she's found innocent there will still be people who think she's guilty Sue. Her image would be shattered, she might get angry and make a mistake. Which is all we need Sue. As I've stated it's already done_. _If you can't get on board then you need to resign.'_

Sue hesitated resigning would be the worst choice she could possibly make. Titan wouldn't protect her then and it was probably what Charlie wanted, it's what happened to everyone who left Titan, at least anyone who left Titan who had been part of the experiments were dead. They had done their best to clean everything up but people were going to start looking deeper into their deaths. At least none of them had been gruesome. It was a death by a thousand cuts. "Understood, and you're sure she's on our side?"

'_She doesn't know anything if that's what you're asking. We said we'd take over paying for her mother's treatment options and ten million dollars of untaxed money in the Cayman Islands. Creating a new identity and getting her out of the country was relatively easy. And we know there are plenty of people who know about the abuse."_

"Understood sir, you're right this probably is our best move." As much as she wanted to decry the plan as risky it would take Charlie off the board long enough for them to figure out how to handle her. Perhaps if they could get close, they could make it look like a suicide. It was something to think about at least.

~O~

Santana looked up at the person who had knocked on her door and blinked seeing her mother carrying some files, "I know you want to help my career mami, but it's not a good look if one of the top ADA sends me cases," Santana said with a smile, that fades when her mother doesn't smile back. "What's going on?"

Maribel hesitates for a moment before taking a seat, "We have a new case that might get national attention, and you may be _involved_, I was given the heads up and if you need a lawyer—"

"What are you talking about?" Santana interrupts. "I haven't done anything illegal. I don't need a _lawyer_."

"You're a person of interest, not _the _person of interest, and I'm only here before the police because of that courtesy." Maribel pushes the manila folder onto the desk.

Santana grabs it and opens it, studying the dark bruises on a woman's neck, and her wrists, she flips through the pictures before Dani Harper's face comes to view. She immediately pushes the folder away, and looks up at her mother, who is looking at her with concern on her features. It takes her a moment to realize what the look is for and rolls her eyes, "Charlie _never_ touched me, our relationship was as it _appeared_. Is Dani coming forward with charges against Charlie?"

"If that was it, it would be one thing but Dani Harper has been reported missing and her mother and her friend came in both with the same story that if anything ever happened to her then Charlie had something to do with it."

Santana glanced at the pictures for a moment, it was terrifying to see something like that upfront, and she doubted Charlie would deny it. Charlie never really _lied _to her about these things. She was _just _at Quinn's wedding with Charlie, I mean that was just two weeks ago."

"Did you suspect?"

"Charlie and Dani have a very volatile relationship, and I _know_ Charlie doesn't love her, if you're asking if you think I think that Charlie killed her and made her body disappear? No."

Maribel frowned, "Santana those pictures tell a different story—"

"Look, I'm not going to deny Charlie has a _temper_, but it's never been directed at me except for the time when I told her that Frannie and I were a thing, and if you had told me soon after the fact that Frannie was dead I'd point you at Charlie in a heartbeat. But Charlie would never kill Dani, not when she knows it pisses me off."

"The photos tell another story," Maribel insists.

Santana narrowed her eyes at her mother, "Mami, _Charlie _didn't do this. I know Charlie and I haven't been together, but I'm telling you that she didn't _do _this. And putting her in prison—well she won't do well there."

"Prison isn't supposed to be fun and given my relationship with Charlie, I'll be recusing myself from this investigation. There already executing a warrant of all her properties."

"You're telling me this so I don't interfere?" Santana asked calmly trying to keep the annoyance off her face.

"Your _word_ Santana, your gut feeling isn't enough. She's been missing for a few days, we've looked at her phone records, her last few texts were to Charlie saying she was coming over, Charlie doesn't reply. There is enough there that we're taking this very seriously and it's _Charlie _Fabray it's going to get attention and you know any prosecutor would want it to make a name for themselves. You need to stay out of this Santana."

Santana tossed the manila folder at her mother, "I don't need to it. This isn't faith, Charlie doesn't _hate _Dani and assuming that Charlie did kill her, she's not an idiot." Charlie cleaned up after herself and she didn't doubt for a moment that Charlie had become proficient in killing.

"Santana."

"She didn't do it mami, I know these photos don't look good. But I know _Charlie_, and I'm certain you can keep looking you're not going to find anything."

Maribel paused, "Are you two—"

"No, like I said she's using Dani as a way to get under my skin. We haven't spoken since the wedding, I'm not ready to have Charlie back in my life and she's not ready to be back in my life." Santana answered honestly. With Charlie's rage burning out of control, it would take plenty of meetings before Charlie was the person she had fallen in love with if that person was still there.


	55. Part 04: Chapter 54

"Are the handcuffs absolutely _necessary_?" Charlie asked, holding her hands up, she could break them easily. "No one has exactly said _why_ I'm here. I'm sure that this is just a misunderstanding. Detective—"

"Adams."

"Right, Detective Adams. I'm here because you asked me to be here, as far as I know I haven't been charged with anything. You did however Mirandize me, and you stated I have a right to a _lawyer._ So—_lawyer._ I'm certain she's on her way."

Detective Azimio Adams frowned, Charlie Fabray was certainly rich enough to have an entire team of lawyers at her beck and call. The cuffs were only there to make her uncomfortable and get her nervous, but she didn't seem nervous. "We just want to know where Dani Harper is."

Charlie tilted her head confused by the question. From the handcuffs, she had worried that they had somehow found out about all the people she had killed, she wasn't actually expecting a question about Dani Harper. "How the _fuck_ am I supposed to know?"

Azimio blinked at her tone, well she had made her first mistake, talking without a lawyer present. "Are you saying that you don't know her?"

"Look, whatever shit Dani has gotten herself into, I have nothing to do with it. I call her when I need to relieve some tension."

"So, you _aren't _dating?" Azimio asked.

Charlie narrowed her eyes slightly at the question, tilting her head to look at the folder that is on the desk and flicks her eyes back to him. "Lawyer."

Azimio hesitates, "Now is the perfect time to get ahead of this before—"

"_Lawyer_." Charlie repeats forcibly this time, narrowing her eyes.

"Very well, but this was your only chance to get ahead of this," Azimio says tersely. But he does get up, and grab the folder. He meets Charlie's gaze and shivers slightly at the hard look on her features. He had seen the photos, and he had dealt with stone cold killers before. She was one of them, how she carried herself, _everything_, screamed that she had done some shit. But she was wealthy enough for a lawyer a good one and getting the information would be infinitely more difficult now. With that he leaves the room, making sure it's closed before going to see his partner who had been watching the interrogation. "She did it."

"Did what? There isn't even a body." Detective Porter responded.

"She wouldn't be the first rich person to have anger issues, you've _seen _the photos. She's violent, shame she lawyered up now. I should have pressed the photos sooner. We should leak the photos out; in this _environment_ it'll isolate her. It might be easier to break her."

"She could sue the department for that, especially if we end up finding out that Dani is alive. The search warrant that was executed on her place hasn't turned _anything_ up, I mean there was some blood on the some of the sheets but not enough to be considered evidence of any wrongdoing."

"I'm _telling _you Spencer, she _did _it. She did something, I get the same feeling around the fucking gang members that we drag in here. If it wasn't Dani then it was someone else, we need to do a deep dive of her accounts She's wealthy enough to have hired someone to do it for her. Look at other engagements she might have had. A new girlfriend, or lover and she wanted to get rid of Dani. Or maybe Dani knew something that she was doing in her company that was illegal, and that's what caused this but she _did _it."

Detective Spencer sighed; he was probably right about it. He generally was about these things but this entire case didn't feel right. "Well one of the attorneys from the DA's office is heading down, to make sure we handle this case correctly. I think I heard the rumor that her daughter used to date Charlie, she's going to keep her distance from this case, but she's going to give some advice.

~ O ~

Charlie rubbed at her wrists as one of the detectives finally released her and leaned back in her chair. Shannon Beiste had raised unholy hell on the department the moment she had walked in, an investment that had paid off. "So, can I go now?" She asked her.

"I think it would be best if we appeared to cooperate with the police, I want to see what they have on you."

Charlie nodded absentmindedly, and glanced at the detectives. "I do wish to point out whatever trouble Dani has gotten herself into—"

"Let's not speculate, let's just answer the questions about her whereabouts, that's what you wanted to know right?"

Azimio nodded and looked at Charlie who shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know where Dani is, I _barely_ see her. Her mother has cancer or _something_, I'm paying for that treatment. If she's not there and she's not at my place, then I don't really _care_, and I don't really know."

"Isn't she your girlfriend?"

Charlie turns to look at Shannon who frowns but nods, "No."

"Really you didn't take her to your sister's wedding? That seems like something you'd take your girlfriend too," Azimio began watching Charlie's face.

Shannon frowned, "What exactly are you attempting to accuse my client of?"

"She was the last person that Dani Harper texted."

Shannon looked at Charlie who shrugged her shoulders. "So, what does that mean? Did something happen to Dani?"

"You tell us, she was reported missing by her mother more than two days ago, and her mother stated that you we should be looking at you."

"So, where is she?"

"I told you I don't know and I don't really care. I didn't _love _her, and she knew that I was sleeping with other people and she didn't care," Charlie said in a bored tone.

"She didn't care? Maybe because you _beat _it into her." Detective Porter yelled tossing the folder in front of Charlie, letting the contents spill out.

"Excuse me?" Shannon began as Charlie picked up one of the photos. "My client has already answered your questions—"

"Not the questions about these photos, these bruises on her neck, her wrists, that black eye. The split lip. We're trying to get her medical records now, what else are we going to find?"

"The black eye and the split lip were an accident, she thought it would be cute to spar with me." Charlie said with a tilt of her head. "The rest was consensual sex. She liked it rough." Charlie answered with a shrug of her shoulders. "She signed a contract to that effect." She didn't trust Dani as far as she could throw her, and this had been to protect herself.

"Prove it."

"My office will send it to you tomorrow. Now if that's all, I expect an apology for the way my client was treated."

"I'd _rather _just go home," Charlie said with a shrug of her shoulders. "If you want to know where Dani is, if she's gone missing, I suggest trying Matt Rutherford, I assume he'll say I did it but he's been carrying a torch for Dani for years. Always hated that Dani liked me more, I offered him a decent paying job too and he turned me down." With that Charlie gets up, and adjusts her jackets. "Do you think I can get away with blowing off the rest of my meetings today? Will Sam believe that this entire thing was traumatic for me?"

"Probably not." Shannon replied before motioning for the cops to open the door. It takes a moment but Detective Spencer Porter does open and Charlie strolls out. Shannon crashing into her when Charlie stops suddenly. "What's the matter?"

"Mrs. Lopez," Charlie said rubbing the back of her neck unphased by Shannon slamming into her.

"Did you—" Maribel shakes her head. "I saw the photos."

"I never _hurt _Santana. I would _never _hurt Santana." Charlie says immediately, any hint of arrogance stripped away. "I didn't do whatever it is that they think I did." Well, for the most part.

Maribel studies her, for a moment, there was the flash of the teenager who had taken refuge in her home. Who had worshipped the ground Santana had walked on. Sure, Santana and Charlie were no longer dating but the tone of her voice, hinted at the feelings Charlie had for her daughter. "Okay."

Shannon tugs on Charlie's arm, "We should get going."

Charlie flicks her eyes to Shannon and nods, "Right." She looks at Maribel one last time before taking off.


	56. Part 04: Chapter 55

"Did you do it?"

Charlie flicked her gaze up from where she was tipping over her coffee table that had been overturned in the police raid. Her computers and tablets were gone, and her kitchen and bedroom had been torn to shreds.

"I apparently am still on the list, I guess you never got around to changing it." Santana answered the unasked question. "And if you want to keep people out, I suggest keeping your door shut and the door locked."

"They broke the lock on my door," Charlie said going back to trying to bring some sort of semblance back into her living room. "Don't worry, someone will be here within the hour to replace the lock, though the frame might need work."

Santana watches Charlie for a moment, her movements were slow and deliberate, as she put things into their proper place. "I'm not wearing a wire if that's what you're thinking. I mean you can pat me down if you want." Sharp green eyes are on her body, and for a moment Santana is certain that Charlie is going to take her up on that offer.

"You may not have a wire, but I have zero reason to not believe that my apartment isn't bugged. And you're here to elicit a confession of some sort. I do occasionally watch television Santana, and I don't trust the police and I have zero reason to trust you."

"Because of what happened with Frannie?" Santana says swallowing.

"Because you're a US attorney," Charlie clarifies. "What happened in the past Santana is just that, in the past. And as for your original question. _No_. I didn't do it. Killing Dani, would mean that I _felt _something for her, and I didn't."

"And the pictures?" Santana prompts. "Are those just—"

"You don't get to ask me those questions. I had no reason to kill Dani, despite what the cops believe. I simply didn't have a good enough reason, I don't feel enough for her to passionately murder her, and there are easier ways of getting rid of Dani. I think a hundred grand and continuing to pay for her mother's cancer treatment, which I'm still doing despite that bitch telling the police that I did this."

Santana frowned, Charlie never lied to her and it wasn't as if she didn't know that Charlie was a killer. That murder didn't really shake Charlie as much as it should, but Dani hadn't _hurt _Charlie. Frannie had hurt Charlie and Frannie was still very much alive, "If it wasn't you then who do you think did it?"

"Why are we under the assumption that Dani is dead?" Charlie asked. "Chances are she did something _stupid_ again, and has gone to ground. If she is dead, then she'd be in a morgue somewhere."

Santana blinked, Charlie could make things and people disappear, how many bodies had Charlie racked up? "I told my mother you didn't do this. And I made sure that she knew that you never laid a finger on me. She's really shaken up about the photos."

Charlie doesn't say anything to that, she simply shrugs her shoulders. "You should stop by more often," she says after a moment. "Tell me how your case you're building against Titan is going."

Santana paused for a moment before frowning, "You think they had something to do with this."

"I want you to stop by because your presence helps my paranoia. As for the case on Titan, they have finally stopped sending people to spy on me." Charlie smirked, pleased with her actions. "It took them awhile to get the message."

Santana shivers at the coldness in Charlie's tone for a moment before sighing, "I have a case, but—the information you got was illegally obtained, I need some corroborating evidence, a whistle blower would be nice. But until then the case has stalled."

"I only held back because you told me you could get it done Santana," Charlie frowned.

Santana met Charlie's harsh gaze with one of her own, "And I told you a million times that your way doesn't solve anything but make the problem infinitely worse," Santana closes her eyes for a moment. "Look, I doubt Titan has anything to do with this but until I get some corroborating evidence then we're stuck."

"You're stuck," Charlie repeats slowly before inhaling. "If I find you this evidence, then the case goes forward?"

Santana hesitated, if only it could be that easy. "However, you obtained the files last time—you can't do that again Charlie."

Charlie studied Santana for a moment before shrugging her shoulders. "I'll get you what you need."

Santana nodded, the lull in the conversation informed her that their little talk was over and she turns to leave before hesitating for a moment. "Will we ever be okay?"

Charlie stopped what she was doing, "You slept with my sister, I mean I could have understood if you and Quinn hooked up, but it was Frannie. You slept with Frannie and I _hurt_, looking at you _hurts_."

"I didn't know that Frannie changed her last name, you didn't even know—"

"Frannie's a snake, she's always been a snake. The fact she didn't let you know proves that, you _stayed_ after you found out. You slept with her _after_ you found out. And that's what _wrecked _me. You _knew _and thought it was a good idea. It's that you slept with me and then went back to her." Charlie takes a shaky breath. "So, I went to Dani to get under your skin, because despite the fact that you shredded me, I still desperately want you to be mine. And that's not a healthy place for me to be."

Santana hesitated, she'd been single since Frannie, sure there had been a few one-night stands and a few blind dates, but nothing had managed to fulfill her like Charlie could. "I miss you too." She sighs, and watches as Charlie goes back to moving things around. "Once I get more information, I'll let you know."

Charlie grunts at Santana and waits until she's certain that Santana's gone before turning to look at where she'd been standing.


	57. Part 04: Chapter 56

"You need to step down Charlie." Dwight Evans swallowed when Charlie's green eyes focused on him. He had been the one to draw the short straw. "I know, it's become a national story, and someone leaked the photos to the press. You'll still have all your shares of the company Charlie, you'll still be making money, you'll still be worth a lot of money. But they're saying you're a _murderer_, and a domestic abuser. Amazon won't _purchase_ us with all this scandal Charlie."

"You built this company, we wouldn't _be _here if it wasn't for you Charlie and most of us _know _that you didn't kill Dani, but the optics—" Sam swallows when Charlie looks at him. "Stepping down saves everything you built. I mean the interview with Dani's mother this morning has been playing non-stop. She's a woman with _cancer_ Charlie, she's incredibly sympathetic."

When Charlie doesn't say anything Dwight sighs, "You'll get a very generous exit package—you'll still keep all your shares of the company, you'll still get a massive payout if Amazon buys the company. No one is looking to screw you over."

"I suppose my innocence means nothing?"

"I believe you," Sam said firmly. Charlie went after _bad _people, with extreme prejudice. And with Santana back in her life—even if she was just on the periphery—Charlie had been relaxed, far more relaxed than she had been in years. Killing Dani wasn't something Charlie would do.

"Well it can't be helped then," Charlie said with a shrug. "I'm not going to let Dani ruin everything I've built. However, I would like to name my replacement. Someone who I know isn't some asshole who plans to run my company into the ground and pick at it like vultures."

Dwight hesitated, that hadn't been offered. But if Charlie still had a controlling interest in the company which she would, then she'd have a say anyway. "We can discuss it—"

"It's Sam. I trust Sam." Charlie interrupted Dwight, who blinked at this. "Quinn doesn't want to run my company. Sam has been here since the beginning and I know with you by his side, the company will only continue to grow."

Dwight looked over at Sam who was in shock by Charlie's declaration, he hadn't expected that. "Well, he certainly has my full support. I'll make it happen."

Charlie smiled and got up to pat Sam on the back. "You'll be fine Sam. People like you and you've got like zero skeletons in your closet except for the fact you're a massive _nerd_ who may or may not still have a crush on my twin sister."

Sam turned a bright red at Charlie's statement, "I have a girlfriend," he says gently shoving Charlie.

"Yeah, _sure_. Is she from Canada? I mean I've never met her. Have you Dwight?"

"I haven't either," Dwight said immediately deciding to join Charlie in teasing Sam.

Sam shook it off, it had been awhile since Charlie had made a joke. "Are you going to be okay? What are you going to do?"

Charlie frowned; it was the first time since she was a teenager that she _wasn't_ working. That she didn't have things to do. "I think it's time I collected on a few receipts that have come due. Don't worry, I won't leave a mess for you to clean up Sam."

Sam hesitated flicking his eyes over at his father, there was a rather cheery smile on Charlie's face. "If you find Dani, just give her location to the police or the FBI or something." When Charlie shrugs again Sam decides to push his luck, "And you and Santana can finally work your shit out."

Charlie frowns at this and looks away for a moment, "I don't think Santana and I _can _work it out, but maybe when all this business with Dani is done and her mother doesn't look at me like I'm some sort of monster we can _talk_."

Sam smiled, "That's all I ask," he moves in for a hug and frowns when Charlie ducks around him.

"What are you doing?"

"Hugging you?"

"Don't do that Sam, it's super weird. I'm not a hugger. You know that. You can't _hug _anyone when you're a CEO. You need to keep things professional." Charlie pats him on the shoulder. "Don't worry I'll give you a list of shit that you can do and can't do."

~ O ~

"You need to do an investigation as to who leaked those pictures," Santana said with a frown. "You know how sensational the news gets and now she's being forced to step down from her company. She _built _that company _mami_."

Maribel sighed and rubbed her temples, "This wasn't a _leak_, Santana, this is the police trying to find more of Charlie's _victim's_. They do not think that Dani was an isolated incident. I know they have your statement, and I assure you they will be questioning you again, because they don't believe it. I don't even think they believe me, and I caught the two of you naked more times than I feel comfortable admitting." Maribel sighed and looked at Santana, "Are you sure she never—"

"I'm not going to pretend that Charlie and I have never fought, but the only time things got broken around me was when she found out about Frannie. She didn't hit me, she didn't try and stop me she said some shit, I said some shit. Never once did I feel like I was in danger, I thought she might actually kill Frannie and I managed to calm her down on that end, but me? Personally? Charlie would never _hurt me_; I don't think she knows how to." Santana answers with a sigh. "She had a reason to go after Frannie, and she _didn't_. Dani? Please, Charlie never loved her. Charlie stated it openly to Dani's face, many times."

"Santana—a body was found." Maribel swallowed. "A body was found, the face was smashed, fingertips were burned—it was a brutal attack, DNA results came in today. It's a match."

Santana blinked, "Charlie didn't do it." Charlie _never _left a body. She would leave signs that something had happened but a _body_. Charlie wasn't sloppy and she certainly didn't kill with her hands. Not when her abilities allowed her a certain amount of creativity.

"Santana, I know you want to believe—"

"Charlie _didn't _do it." Santana repeated firmly.

"Perhaps, but you can't give her the heads up. We're gathering the evidence now and in a few days an arrest warrant will be made out for her name. I understand you believe her, and maybe she's innocent of this Santana, but it's not looking good. And you don't want to get an obstruction charge."

Santana bit her lip hard enough to draw blood. "Can you at least make sure she gets bail?"

"It's not up to me Santana, the DA is looking to make an example out of her. He's going to ask that she be remanded into custody."

Santana swallowed feeling ill, Charlie would not do well in another prison situation. "She has good lawyers they should be able to get her out of it right?"

"That's the hope," Maribel said with a small nod.


	58. Part 04: Chapter 57

Santana swallowed feeling uneasy, as she was led to the interview room. She had promised herself that she'd never step foot in a prison again, she _wasn't _a criminal, and it wasn't as if she couldn't make arrangements for her job. But Charlie had been denied bail, they were trying to make an example out of her. Charlie didn't even _own _a passport, she'd never been out of the country, and she had excellent lawyers. This didn't happen to people like her, but the photos of Dani's body had leaked to the press and people were demanding answers.

Nancy Grace had already declared Charlie guilty, in fact the general consensus was that Charlie was guilty. It didn't help that people like Matt Rutherford and Dani's mother were on every national news station, discussing what a shitty person Charlie was. It certainly didn't help that both Frannie and Russell were insisting that Charlie was an undiagnosed sociopath, who had anger issues. What she had ever seen in Frannie was beyond her, Charlie would have never sold Frannie out like this. She would have probably laughed, but she _wouldn't _have said anything to the press.

"She'll be with you shortly; we need to get her from the _slot_."

"She's in solitary confinement?" Santana hissed turning to look at the correctional officer. "Why? It's been _two _days!"

The correctional officer shrugged, he certainly hadn't been on duty then, but he had heard the story through the grapevine. "She was in the yard; a few women knew she had money and tried to shake her down. Those women are in the hospital now. Even though she was attacked first, we didn't really have a choice, a few of them are in gangs and we're worried she might be shanked. It's more protective right now, but if we put her in gen pop again, something will happen, and we're trying to avoid that."

Santana inhaled sharply, and closed her eyes. Charlie _knew _the streets; she could _afford _protection—she could have easily have bought the women off. So, either Charlie was being stupid or she had _wanted_ to be thrown into solitary. She nods after a moment, "I see."

There're a few moments of quiet before the door slides open and Charlie in a tan jumpsuit is led into the room. Her right eye was swollen shut and her lip was split. Her knuckles were skinned, and her hair had lost its lustre. She's forcibly shoved into the seat and her hands are cuffed to the table. "We'll be right outside, and if there is an issue there's the panic button," the correctional officer stated pointing to the big red button.

"Understood," Santana said and waited until they had exited the room before she looked at Charlie and immediately reached for her face, only for Charlie to flinch away from her touch. "_Charlie_. I'm here right now, _in this place_, to see you. I needed to see you. So _please_," her voice was quiet. There's a pause and she waits a moment before attempting again and she touches Charlie's cheek gently under the swollen eye.

Charlie leans into the touch for a moment, "I'm fine Santana," it comes out a mumble, her words slightly slurred over her split lip. "I'll be _fine_. You shouldn't come and check on me, people might get the wrong idea. We shouldn't be in the room together without my lawyer present."

Santana pulls her hand away as if she's been burned, "You're the one in _here—"_

"And you can't be seen _with me_, this can't be a _thing_, people will talk and you work for the federal government. I imagine they're like super strict about fraternizing with people like me. So _please_ don't come back," Charlie interrupted. She glances around for a moment before the cuffs fall to the table and she reaches for Santana's hand. "You don't need to come _here _to see me."

The words went unsaid, and for a moment Santana smiles at her, it's only for a moment before she takes a seat. "Charlie, there is no evidence other than the DNA evidence that it's Dani. The prosecution is going to craft a story with those pictures that they have, that you're the only _person_ it could have been. I mean most of it is circumstantial—"

"My lawyers have already been over this with me Santana. That's _not _Dani."

Santana raised a brow, clearly Charlie had been hit in the head hard enough to not understand what it meant. "Charlie it has her DNA—"

"When I was arrested the police showed me the photos. Of the body to I assume to try and shake me. Dani has a tattoo of a dreamcatcher on her ribs. That woman doesn't have it. Some of the tattoos are the same, same tattoo same artist. But _that's _not Dani, the tattoo on her ribs was relatively recent. I should know I paid for it. We were having sex on occasion. Plus, there are pictures of it. My lawyers don't think I should be here long, they're gathering the information and they'll be insisting on doing an independent DNA test."

There was a momentary pause as Santana processed the information that Charlie handed her; she closes her eyes for a moment before opening it. "Titan?"

Charlie shrugged her shoulders, "I thought I was being paranoid, but it's looking more and more likely that this is a thing."

"I'll look into it—"

"_Santana_—"

"You're not supposed to be in here. You think I want to visit you here; you think that I don't have flashbacks just being here. And if you're in here how long do you think it'll take Titan to send someone for you? It's _prison_, you were already attacked."

"You really don't think I'm worried about these women, do you?" Charlie presses and slides her hands back into the cuffs. "Honestly, the correctional officers have already offered me protection if I pay them. I'm going to be fine, and I'll be out of here by the end of the week."

"Do _not_ bribe the correctional officers Charlie, this already doesn't look good. You _put _people in the hospital. Just keep your _head _down, and let me handle things." When Charlie doesn't say anything, in response. "I know with our history trusting me might be difficult but I'm not leaving you here to rot. We're not those teens anymore."

Charlie hesitates for a moment before nodding and finally relenting and nodding. "Be _careful_."

Santana nodded and got up moving to the door only for Charlie to grab her by the arm gently and tug her towards her. She stops and lets Charlie just rest her head against her stomach for a moment. She can see Charlie's shoulder slump for a moment, and she can practically feel the tension leaving Charlie's body. She can't help leaning down to kiss Charlie's forehead. It was a simple action, but Charlie doesn't pull away. "Once you're free—"

"We'll talk," Charlie murmurs against her before pulling away and putting her hand back into the cuffs. "That's all I can promise for now."

"That's all I need," Santana said as she pulls away herself, fighting their bond which was pulling her back. She knocks on the door, which opens after a moment and the correctional officer looks between them for a moment.

"Everything alright?"

"Yes," Santana said with a simple shrug of her shoulders. "I'm going to insist that you keep her in protective custody. From what we have it might seem like she's _innocent_, and I'm certain there will be _hell _to pay if anything were to happen to her."

Charlie watched Santana leave, noting the slight sway in her hips and she gets a hard _cuff_ against the back of her head by one of the correctional officers causes her to look up.

"Be respectful."

The words caused Santana to turn back to her for a moment, before she shakes her head, and flashes a small smile at Charlie. They were going to be okay.


	59. Part 04: Chapter 58

People really had never understood her relationship with Dani Harper. It had never been a _relationship_, from the time that they were teenagers, Dani had been the one to pursue her. Dani had been the one to tell people that they were dating. Even after she had cut Dani from her life, Dani had been the one to re-enter her life. She had been the one to beg her for the money to pay for her mother's treatment.

She had still been brooding over finding out that Santana _had_ slept with Frannie. It had made sense at the time to use Dani again, she wanted to get at Santana. It had been stupid then and _stupid _to continue. Sleeping with Dani had been a mistake then, one that she had acknowledged back then. It had been _Dani_ who had offered to sell her body to her for the money to pay for her mother's treatment. She had seen through that ploy; Dani had hoped it would be her chance to win her over.

Putting a contract down in front of Dani had brought a smile to her lips, and she had made sure Dani had understood what her position was. Dani had never meant _anything_ to her, but she could be a useful tool, and a good way to relieve some tension.

It was after Quinn's wedding and seeing Santana again, that had changed things. She _hated _how Santana forced her to _feel_ when she didn't want too. How just being in Santana's presence made her feel at peace. To see the hurt on Santana's face had cut right through the wall she had put up and she knew that her deal with Dani needed to end. She had always intended to continue paying for Dani's mothers' treatment, she wasn't a _heartless _monster, but she was also granting Dani her freedom.

She hadn't even _wanted _to have sex with Dani, the last time that they were together. But she hadn't been in the mood to continuously rebuff her, and had for the most part put in her headphones and listened to music as Dani had gotten on her knees between her legs and brought her to a weak orgasm. She had exhausted Dani as she normally did, and once Dani had woken up, she had kicked her out.

It had been the last time she had seen Dani alive. And now sitting here in solitary confinement it was all she could think of. Had she _missed _something that Dani had said in the days leading up to that night? Had she missed something that she had _said _during that night, it was highly possible she generally didn't listen when Dani opened her mouth. Sex with her felt like more of a chore than something that she enjoyed.

Charlie opened her eyes after a moment at the sound of someone walking through the halls, she had refused to touch the food that they had given her, if Titan industries could pay off some genetic testing company, or a government official. Paying one of these poorly paid correctional officers to turn the other cheek would hardly be a problem for them.

She opens her palm and after a second a sandwich appeared with a bottle of water, and she eats it quickly She could trust Sam, who had already sent her message that he was diverting resources to find Dani Harper. She already had a few private investigators who were looking into it discreetly. They would _find _her, and if she found out that Dani had willing worked with Titan to fuck her over, then she probably would kill her.

She drains the bottle of water quickly and gets rid of the evidence and crosses her legs. Maybe she should work out once again. She couldn't lose a step, her lawyers said that she'd be out by Tuesday at the latest. Once she got out, she'd let Titan _know _that she knew that they were involved. But she already knew what the first thing she needed to do when she was granted bail. And that was _see _Santana.

She closed her eyes again and exhaled deeply. She just needed to last a few more days, and after seeing Santana it was finally time to go after everyone that had screwed her over.

~ O ~

'_After a rather contentious day in court with more evidence presented, the judge has finally set bail for the embattled former CEO Charlotte Fabray. Bail was set at five million and quickly posted. We'll have images from the Logan Correctional Center as she exits. Joining us on the panel is Francesca—'_

Miguel Lopez muted the television and looked at his daughter who was biting her bottom lip, "I don't know what you ever saw in her."

"I thought you liked Charlie?" Santana frowned looking at her father, wondering if her mother had finally managed to turn her father against Charlie. "You don't really believe—"

Miguel held his hand up to stop Santana from talking and looked back to the kitchen where his wife was currently making dinner. "You and I both know that Charlie _is _capable of it, that's not in dispute. But I don't believe that she _did _this," he said keeping his voice low. "I'm not talking about Charlotte, I understand _that _now, I mean Frannie."

Santana winced; she'd been wondering that herself since Frannie had started this media crusade against Charlie. "I didn't know when we started dating," it's a weak excuse and the look her father gives her suggests that he's not buying it. "They both _hate _each other."

"And yet I don't think Charlie would go on television and tell the world what a terrible person Frannie is. Even if I believed Charlie did what she was accused of, I certainly wouldn't betray my family like that. I understand that their relationship took a turn for the worse after Charlie found out but this must run deeper than that."

Santana picked at her nails, "According to Quinn, Charlie hates Frannie for abandoning them with their father, and not returning after the death of their mother. Frannie never really hated Charlie so much as she thought Charlie was a psychopath." Santana takes a breath. "But Charlie was smart and resourceful and she made her fortune, despite the fact that Frannie always thought of her as nothing more than a thug, and I think that bothered Frannie that she was wrong. And even though she wouldn't admit it, it bothers her that Charlie who nearly dropped out of high school, and didn't go to an Ivy League School, is doing well for herself. Then the whole I dated both of them, soured what was left of their relationship."

Miguel nodded, "That wasn't your smartest decision to continue the relationship when you finally found out. It was even sillier to let her find out on her own." He's quiet for a moment as he watches Frannie arguing with a talking head for a moment. "Are you going to see her?"

Santana scowled; she didn't really need her father commenting on her terrible life decisions. She _knew _that they were shitty decisions. "Charlie doesn't want me to get disbarred for being seen with her. She said she'll see me, which I imagine means when she can get a moment alone."

Santana raises a brow when she spots a dark SUV pull up to the prison, and Sam steps out of it, ignoring the flashing lights of the cameras and the people who are protesting Charlie's release. "Well look at that Trouty-mouth is moving up in the world." She was glad that _someone_ from Charlie's inner circle was there to pick her up.

"It's a disgrace, is what it is," Maribel said with a frown. There were hundreds of ways that Charlie could have tried for bail, the evidence simply wasn't there. Finding a _body_ wasn't proof of anything, the pictures looked bad but any decent judge would have suppressed them due to the fact that Dani had signed a contract.

"She's _innocent_," Santana sighed not really wanting to get into it with her mother. "That wasn't _Dani_."

"I _know _it wasn't but making it _public _that the crime lab screwed up, or _simply_ didn't test the body like they claimed has opened up the District Attorney's office to liability. _Every _case that has gone through that lab is now under review and the evidence is being re-tested." Maribel sighed and looked at her daughter for a moment.

"The charges should be dropped—"

"I'm not the one in charge of the case, I had to recuse myself. I agree with you Santana, this doesn't _look _good, it's looking more and more like Dani killed someone and used that body to _frame _Charlie. At least that's the newest theory in the breakroom. Until Dani's body is found."

"Wouldn't put it past her," Santana mutters. If Dani had decided to work with Titan, Charlie would probably kill her in the most painful way possible without getting caught.

"Well she certainly knows how to make an entrance." Maribel mused as Charlie walked out, dressed in some fancy designer clothing. She had no idea how Charlie didn't look worse for wear, but she stood tall with her sports jacket tossed over her shoulder like this was a runway show. This only seemed to inflame the protestors. "It was a good thing that I pointed out that we should have a few police there to make sure the crowd and the journalists don't get rowdy."

Santana bit her lip, as Charlie allowed Sam to hug her tightly, and smiled at how annoyed she looked at this even as she patted him on the back, and slid into the SUV. She watches as Sam slides in after her, and the door closes. She could only hope that Charlie wouldn't be—Santana glances up immediately to where her room was located, and a small smile graced her lips. She's about to excuse herself when just as soon as she can feel Charlie's presence it's gone. "Be right back," she said excusing herself as she heads up to her room.

She pushes open the door and notices a flower laying on her bed, and she moves towards it noting the phone beside it. She touches the phone and notes that the only number in the contacts list is unlisted and she immediately calls it. It rings once and is immediately picked up. "Charlie?" She prompts.

'_Hey.'_

Santana snorted at the simple reply; it was so Charlie. There was an awkward pause and she can practically hear the gears grinding in Charlie's head. When they were younger without all the drama, this had been easier. They had talked for hours about everything and nothing. "When can I see you?" She asks deciding to cut straight to the chase.

'_Tonight, if you're able too. I'm not going home; I'll text you the address.'_

It's only a second before the text comes through and she glances at it. It was close by, which meant that she would probably have time to get ready, she didn't know what to expect, but this event had clearly thawed Charlie to her presence. "I'll be there," Santana said. She hesitates for a moment wondering if she should press for the status of what they were.

'_Santana?'_

"Yeah?"

'_Missed you_.'

Santana blinked, it was that gentle tone that Charlie had only with her, so maybe she could put in a bit more effort. "I missed you too, I'll see you soon," she promises. She ends the call and bites her lip for a moment before ending the call.


	60. Part 04: Chapter 59

Santana had expected to have a passionate night with Charlie, the kind that left her breathless and had her eyes rolling to the back of her head, to say she was disappointed would be an understatement. But, being in Charlie's arms was just as good. She feels Charlie stir for a moment, and rolls over to look at her, and she smiles and reaches to gently wipe some of the drool that was on Charlie's lip. It's only after that does Charlie open her eyes. "Morning," she says quietly.

It takes Charlie a moment for her brain to come back online and she studies Santana's face for a moment. A smile begins to form, but it's gone just as fast as Charlie begins to pull away from Santana, "Morning," she mumbles.

It hurts, and for the first time it feels _physical_. Her chest feels heavy, and she can feel her eyes sting with tears that were suddenly threatening to fall. "I'm sorry. I'll keep saying it until you believe me."

The tension in Charlie's body suddenly slackens and she turns to look at Santana, and reaches for Santana for a moment. "You think that I don't know?" Charlie says quietly. "You think that this is about Frannie? I mean it is in part, but I've never wanted to break up in the first place. I've always been open that I needed you, that I would do better. I'm not a good person, and you keep acting surprised when I do bad things. You think that I don't feel what you're feeling, that my chest doesn't feel tight right now? That I didn't notice how you were dressed up last night? Do you honestly think that I don't want to take you right now, and after we're finished just hold you and tell you that everything will be alright?" Charlie's voice breaks and she rubs at her eyes. "It _hurts_, Santana."

Santana touches Charlie's arm and tugs her back into the bed with her, glad that Charlie makes no attempt to resist. "Bad things? Bad is finishing all my snacks and not telling me about it so I have to do shopping. Charlie. you _kill _people, you hurt people and you've done it with a smile on your face. You can't honestly expect me to think, that's one of your quirks." Santana frowns and looks at Charlie, praying that Charlie doesn't actually _need_ to kill people. "I still love you, even knowing _exactly_ what you're capable off. That doesn't mean I have to accept it. I know you can be _better_. You've shown that time and time again. Just like I knew you didn't kill Dani, I think I laughed at how absurd the idea even was, because I know you. I know what you're capable off, and what you're not capable of." Santana takes a deep breath. "Those pictures that they have of Dani—" when Charlie looks away and she sees a flash of shame cross her face. "Charlie."

"The bruises on her hips and legs were done during sex, the black eye and split lip were a legit accident, I assume she wanted to play spar hoping it would lead to sex, I didn't realize it at the time. She cussed me out for that one. But I'm not going to pretend I haven't laid hands on her in anger. Usually when she'd mention your name. After the wedding when I figured out, she'd been talking to you I did it again. I didn't however kill her."

Santana was quiet, Charlie was a different person with her. That much was clear, and it wasn't as if Charlie hadn't gotten angry at her before. She'd never lashed out in anger towards her not like that, and she doubted very much Charlie would ever touch her. Charlie didn't attempt to control her, every breakup they had, was relatively healthy all things considered, there were no red-flags when she was with Charlie. "When I wasn't with you the nightmares came back. Then I met Frannie and like when Quinn is around, I just feel _okay_ like you're around. More so with Quinn, than with Frannie. When I found out she was your sister, I was going to tell you. I didn't want to tell you, but I came there that day, I didn't do it to just fuck you and run back to her. I swear I didn't, but you couldn't tell me what I wanted to hear, and after I didn't know how to tell you I was dating Frannie." She sees the hurt and anger flash through Charlie's eyes for a moment.

"If it had been Quinn it would have been better," Charlie said after a moment. "Don't think that's permission, Quinn has questionable taste in women."

Santana chuckled, "She does. At least she managed to get it right once, we have to make sure it lasts because I don't believe she'll manage to do it again. Rachel isn't _that _bad." Her smile fades after a moment and she looks at Charlie. "Do you remember that day, when I asked you if you'd still do it—break the law? I'm not asking you for a lot here Charlie, and I don't think I'm being unreasonable to ask you to think of the consequences of your actions. You think I want to visit you in jail? I know you don't have some compulsion to break the law, but you do it because it's _easy_."

Charlie studied Santana, there were people she needed to see. People who she needed to _hurt_. This Dani thing was costing her money she didn't want to spend, and now that her mind was finally clear, she was going after Titan. "There are things that I need to do—"

Santana's breath catches. She wasn't asking for Charlie to stop a compulsion she was asking her to stop taking shortcuts. "What is so important that you can't promise me that you'll try your hardest not to break the law?" Her tone is harsh, filled with the frustration.

Charlie stared at Santana before sighing and rolling over so she was on her back and looking at the ceiling. "If Dani's still alive, and not locked away in some Titan Industries dungeon, I'm probably going to kill her. And I still need to get you a star witness, and that may take a bit of—_convincing _that it's in their best interest to cooperate with you fully. And if Titan keeps sending people after me, I'm probably not going to hesitate to kill them."

Santana blinked at Charlie's response; it wasn't what she had expected. She had expected some excuse, but Charlie had been blunt with her. "You're not killing Dani," Santana said firmly. When Charlie turned her head towards her. "Let me handle her. If she's alive and is setting you up, everyone she cares about is fair game, her sick mother, Matt Rutherford, everyone who was in on it. She gets to see her life up in flames, and you get your name back."

Charlie paused for a moment before she smiles, "I like your idea better," she admits after a moment.

It's a start, and she moves so she can straddle Charlie's hips, knowing the action would have Charlie's full attention. She could work with knowing what Charlie was planning to do and talking her out of it, "I don't want you _killing _people Charlie, it puts you in a _bad _place."

Charlie hesitates for a moment before resting her hand on Santana's waist. Santana was right of course, "All I can promise is that I won't do it unless I feel threatened."

It's a compromise, it's probably the best one that she's going to get and Titan had made it abundantly clear that killing them wasn't off the table. Charlie didn't seem to mind getting her hands dirty to protect her, and that's what it would be _protection_. "Okay," Santana said guiding Charlie's hands lower, pausing for a moment when Charlie resists, she looks at her.

"You can't just throw me away when I do something wrong, and then come back a few years later and just hope that I'll forgive you or want you back. Because you _know _I will," Charlie said looking at Santana.

"I never—" Santana frowned, she had pushed Charlie away, but a part from a few phone calls from Charlie, which she _ignored_, she simply avoided Charlie until she could ignore the throb of the bond between them. Every time they met again, it would snap back into place and her feelings would begin again. "So, marry me."

Charlie froze, "_What_?"

Santana licked her lips, "I don't mean _today_, I don't even mean tomorrow maybe after this whole Dani thing blows over, but we should get married. I mean I've known you—I've _loved _you since I was teenager, and I've dated other people and I know what we have isn't exactly _healthy_ at times, but I have _never _felt this strongly about anyone else. I will probably never feel this way about anyone else and at this point I'm just tired of being apart from you. And once this business with Titan is done, once they're all in jail and their company is gone, everything will be okay. _We'll _be okay, and we can build a life together."

Charlie stares at Santana mutely for a moment, she's not sure what to say. This was not how she had expected this to go. They were good when they were together, she was _happy_ when she was with Santana. "If you're going to ask someone to marry them, the least you could do is get them a ring," Charlie says after a moment.

It's that gentle teasing smile that she's missed and Santana holds out her hand, using her abilities to design a simple band for Charlie. It would simply have to do for now until she could find something better, and do it _better_. It doesn't take long and just as she's about to say something Charlie's lips crash against hers.

The action causes her to drop the ring that she had made, as their bond, what kept them coming back to each other practically roared back to life, causing her skin to tingle. There's a sudden chill and she realizes that Charlie's used her abilities to remove her top, and she peels away. "That's handy," she murmurs against Charlie's lips, as she begins to use her own abilities creating things that she wanted to use on Charlie and have Charlie use on her.

She's not exactly sure what happens next, because all she can remember is an explosion of power, and her body being flung off the bed and onto the ground as every window, every piece of glass or mirror in the room explodes sending shards of glass everywhere in the room. She feels a sharp pain in her arm as her back hits the ground and she glances down to see a giant shard of glass embedded in her arm. She coughs at the dust that is now filling the room, trying to ignore the ringing in her ears. She rolls over wanting to curl into a fetal position when the door to the room slams open and she spots Sam running inside. His lips are moving but all she can hear is the buzzing in her ears. She tries to get her lips to move, but they like her eyes feel heavy.


	61. Part 04: Chapter 60

Santana's eyes flickered and she grimaces as the bright that is shining in her eyes. "_Fuck_," she mumbles under her breath as she gasps for air. Pain, that seemed to be the only constant, her arms, her legs, her body, each part of her body _hurt_.

It takes a moment for her brain to push the pain away as it tries to piece together what happens, she'd been in the process of getting Charlie naked, and then there had been an explosion, of some sort. It takes an even longer moment for her mind to make the connections that _Charlie _had been in an explosion with her and she immediately sits up, her breath catching as her body protests at the sudden movement. She sucks in a deep breath through her teeth and looks around, wondering where she was and realizing it looked _familiar_, but her mind is still foggy with pain and she frowns slightly.

"Santana—_mija_, you were in an accident," her father's soothing voice is beside her and she turns to look at him.

"Charlie—" Santana grimaces as a sharp shooting pain distracts her and she looks at her arm, and notices the cuts and bruises. She frowns and focuses for a moment; it doesn't take long for the cuts and scrapes on her arm to slowly fade away.

Miguel moves quickly to try and get his daughter to lay back down, "She's fine, she brought you to me. She doesn't know what happened." It was a lie, of sorts. Charlie was nowhere near fine, but had refused medical attention insisting that he see to his daughter. When he had finished seeing to his daughter, Charlie had been gone.

The words don't register and she realizes she might have hit her head, because the fog in her mind lingers as she begins to focus on trying to stop her body from hurting. The pain ebbs away after a few seconds and her mind feels slightly clearer. She moves to get off the examination table that her father had set her on and feels his strong hands on her trying to push her down. "I'm _fine_. Papi _I'm fine_, I healed myself." Santana said as she smacked his hands away.

"_What_—"

"I can heal myself, where's Charlie—what happened?" Santana pressed as she hops off the table, and wobbles as she realizes that her balance is slightly off.

Miguel blinked, he had been wondering how he was going to explain what had happened to Maribel, when Santana had woken up. He glances at her arms; he was certain she may have fractured something but she didn't seem to be in any pain. The deep cuts, where he had pulled out bits of wood and glass, seemed to have healed on their own, not leaving a single scar. He gapes for a moment before Santana's eyes are on him. "She was just gone before I could check on her—"

"_Fuck_." Santana swore looking around for her phone. She needed to get in touch with Charlie before she _killed _someone in retaliation. "Did she give you a number to call her—"

Miguel fished in his pockets, finding the phone that Charlie had given him and handed it to Santana who grabbed it from him and quickly called the only number on the burner phone. It rings once then _twice_—

'_Is she—'_

"Charlie—_it's me_, I'm okay. I promise I'm okay, where are you?" Santana said her voice gentle, as the rush of their bond finally snapped back into place, it almost felt stronger than before, and her body aches for Charlie in a way that was completely inappropriate with her father standing right beside her, hovering as if she was going to keel over and die.

There was a pause for a moment, '_They hurt you.'_

Santana nods trying to keep herself calm they had just restarted their relationship having Charlie destroying Titan Industries would put a damper on the relationship going forward. "I know, but I'm fine, and I'd feel safer if you were _here_ with me." It was manipulative but she can practically hear Charlie's mind working on what was said. The line goes dead and she pulls the phone away and turns around, as her body suddenly feels warm and safe as Charlie appears in a shroud of darkness behind her.

"_Holy—_"

Santana ignored her father's string of curses as he backed away from Charlie and instead moves to hug Charlie, who flinches in pain when she touches her. It's only for a split second, before Charlie's lips are on hers, and they're just as hungry as she feels. It takes her father clearing his throat a few times, each time getting consecutively louder before she turns to glare at him, he was interrupting.

"This is _my_ office," Miguel snaps at his daughter, choosing to ignore Charlie for now. In all the time he'd known her he'd never seen her utilise her powers. But now that he did, it was unnerving, but he was doctor and it was obvious Charlie was still hurting. "And Charlie's injured so even if you _wanted_ to have sex without a care in the world—you'd only be hurting her. That is not permission by the way. You two can't have sex in my office. I can't believe I even have to say that out loud."

"He's right Santana," Charlie said slowly, it would be weird to have sex in front of Santana's dad, or in his office. And he was also right that she was hurting badly, she'd managed to get rid of most of the shrapnel but breathing hurt, and she was certain if she peeled back her shirt it would be a bloody mess. Still, having sex with Santana would be nice, and her body seemed to crave it, she didn't even hurt as much anymore now that she was beside her.

Santana scowled and reached for Charlie's hand stopping when she feels the warm sticky liquid on her sleeve and she glances at her hands for a moment. "Charlie did you—"

"It's mine," Charlie says firmly.

Santana nods after a moment, Charlie never lied to her especially when she asked her a direct question. Charlie would always tell the truth even if it would be the smart thing to do otherwise. "Let me see, I can heal you."

"Right—none of that. You're still weak, I'll give her a check up you can wait outside Santana," Miguel said taking charge. "Don't argue, you had the option to go to medical school and you chose law, so let me _help _her."

"I want her to stay," Charlie states simply, as she finds a seat and slumps into it, she reaches for Santana who immediately comes to her side.

Miguel looks at the ceiling, he finally understood what Santana and Charlie had meant when they had informed him that they had a bond. "Was this Titan?"

"Yes," Charlie states firmly.

"How would they know where you were? You were at Sam's? It's not like they were following you right?" Santana questions, it had caused her brain to itch a bit. This was far too loud, far too noisy for Titan. If Charlie's assumptions about Dani were _correct_ then they were sticking to the shadows.

Charlie turned sharply to Santana, a scowl on her face. "Who else could it have been?"

Miguel grabbed a light, deciding to start with a neurological exam, to make sure that Charlie wasn't concussed. "What were you doing before it happened?" When Santana and Charlie exchange looks, he groans. He really needed to discuss this with his wife at some point. He wasn't even sure where to begin. "And you've done this before without—never mind I know you've done it before without explosive results, you both failed at the open-door policy when you were teenagers. Was anything different about this time?"

"It's been awhile," Charlie says looking over at Santana.

"We've had long stretches where we weren't having sex," Santana reminded her, choosing to ignore how uncomfortable this conversation was going for her father, if there was something wrong, he might have some insight. It was best to be as honest as possible, without giving him too much information. She paused for a moment, "It was the first time you used your—abilities while I was using mine."

Charlie blinked slowly, as she followed Miguel's finger as he made an H-shape in the air in front of her face. "That can't be true," Charlie frowned thinking back. But she rarely used her abilities in Santana to begin with, and Santana rarely did anything more than make a coffee, there had never been a time when they had both needed to use their abilities at the same time. Generally, she was much more tactile with removing Santana's clothing. It was something she enjoyed doing, today she had been in a rush to see what Santana had on. She raises her hand slowly to test it out when it gets smacked hard by Miguel.

"You two are not blowing up my office, don't you have some other place where you can do this?"

"Sam?" Santana asked. "He'll probably get super _nerdy_ about all of this and forget that we may have destroyed his apartment." She doubted it but it was worth a try. "You're going to need to pay for the damages."

Charlie wrinkled her nose, she would have to pay for the repairs, at least most of it was superficial and it _probably_ wouldn't break the bank. She still had to pay for lawyers after all, and the private investigators. She'd also have to be _nice _to him, and she wasn't thrilled to have to deal with it. "Okay, we probably shouldn't have sex—_that hurt_!" Charlie said when Miguel flicked her forehead.

"Stop it. Or I kick Santana out," Miguel threatened. "She's my _daughter_."

Charlie rubbed her forehead for a moment before nodding. Deciding to simply keep her mouth shut for now. She does reach for Santana's hand and holds it tightly, letting her adrenaline levels fall to an acceptable level as her eyes grow heavy and she yawns. It doesn't take her long before she leans against Santana's shoulder and falls asleep.


	62. Part 04: Chapter 61

Even without Santana's intervention, she could already feel the pain leaving her body. What had once been a sharp pain, was now nothing more than a dull ache. The despair that she had felt the day before when she had thought that Santana had died, was gone and all that was left was a _happiness_ that she was waking up next to Santana. She leans in and gently traces the curve of Santana's back, "I know my love can be the killing kind," Charlie mumbled. She _knew _it was difficult to love her, god knows how many people _simply _couldn't. Quinn tried, she _knew _she did, but she hadn't made it easy.

She had hurt the people she cared about. Quinn, Sam, Santana—how many times had she _hurt _Santana even unintentionally. She could hear the doubt starting to creep into the deep recesses of her mind, how many times had her father hurt her mother? How many times had she been _hurt _by him? She didn't _have _a normal view of what _love _was and she _knew _it wasn't fair to link her happiness to being with Santana, but she had. She _only_ felt happy—she only felt _normal_ around Santana.

But she had _tried _to live without Santana, and the consequences of that were costing her deeply. Dani was a problem of her own making; she should never have gone back to her. She should never have laid hands on her. But Dani had offered a convenient punching bag, a focus of her rage and self-loathing. But she would deal with the Dani situation in due time, she needed to end this.

Santana had _proposed_ to her, and now what she wanted more than anything was to marry Santana and just be _happy_ for the rest of her life. To build that life that she had always wanted with her, maybe they'd get a _dog_. She was certain she'd _like _a dog. But to do that she needed to wrap this business up with Titan industries. To do that she needed to get Santana a star witness, and there was _only_ one person who she was _certain_ knew where the bodies were buried. Asking for forgiveness, generally didn't work with Santana, and she doubted that asking permission was the right move to do. But if they were actually trying to make this work, if they were actually going to try and be _together_ through the thick and the thin, she was _certain _that she would need to be open and _honest _about things before she did it.

"Charlie?"

She blinks, she hadn't quite known that Santana was awake, her breathing was still rather even. "Yeah?" Charlie asked sliding back down in bed so she was face to face with Santana who finally opened her eyes.

"What are you thinking about?" Santana asked. "The only correct answer is a continuation of what we started last night."

Charlie smiles a bit, "I think your _dad_ hates me now."

"You were thinking about my dad? Should I be worried?" Santana asked in a teasing tone as she gently kisses Charlie. She uses the moment of surprise from Charlie to slowly straddle her hips. She had _missed _this, missed being satisfied sexually by Charlie and Charlie was _damn_ good at it.

Charlie smiled, "I was just thinking about how you're going to tell him and your mom that you proposed," Charlie said holding up her hand, and revealing the ring that Santana had made for her.

Santana laughed, she didn't think it would go well but she was tired of not feeling a hundred percent, of not being the happiest she could be and that was with Charlie. "We'll do it together, once we've gotten this Titan and Dani nonsense figured out," Santana promised.

"It can be done by today and we can maybe go down to the courthouse and—" Charlie trailed off when Santana gave her a look. "I want this life with you, we can have a wedding anytime, it could be this huge thing a huge celebration if that's what you want, but I want to be your wife."

"Charlie, my parents would _actually_ kill me if I surprised them that you and I were getting married this quickly. Like I mean it, they'd straight up murder me," Santana rolled her eyes when Charlie laughed. She wasn't actually kidding about her parents killing her, they would, especially with all this drama in Charlie's life right now. She sighs and leans back as Charlie brings her legs up so she can have a bit of a back rest. "How did you plan to end this—with Titan?"

"You need a witness, someone who would be a _whistleblower_, and the only person I know for _sure _was involved in this is Sue Sylvester. She knew _my _name, I don't think she's aware that you're _alive_, or they would have sent people after you—"

"Charlie I'm a _federal _prosecutor, I was already kidnapped once and it was such a big deal, and they _never _caught who did it. Even if they know I exist, they can't _touch _me—"

"It wouldn't be difficult to make it look like a mugging gone wrong Santana. They could easily frame someone else, they had no problem with finding a woman who had the same build as Dani and giving her a bunch of the same tattoos, so that there _would _be a body," Charlie pointed out.

Santana opened her mouth and closed it, Charlie had a point and she hadn't been careful. She imagined Charlie had done a few things to keep her safe that she wasn't aware off, but she _really_ didn't want to find out _what _Charlie had done. "Charlie, Sue's had _plenty _of time to come forward, but she _hasn't_. What is your plan ask her _nicely_?" When Charlie smiles, she can't help the shiver that runs down her back for a moment. "You can't torture her Charlie."

"I _wasn't._"

"Nothing illegal—"

"That I can't promise." Charlie said immediately. There was no point in lying. "Sue Sylvester doesn't _deserve_ to be protected by the law Santana, and she doesn't deserve to get immunity by testifying. I want her feeling _scared_ and looking over her shoulder for the rest of her life, worried about her _loved _ones and what I might do to them. I want her to _beg _for jail time just in hopes that it protects her from me."

Santana bit her lip, and let out an annoyed breath. Charlie was _right_, and if Charlie wanted to be the proverbial _stick _when it came to dealing with someone like Sue then she would be the carrot. "Then we can't talk about it. I can't know what you're going to do. Just—" she sighs, "just no _killing_."

Charlie's quiet for a moment before she nods, "I can promise not to kill anyone. What about Dani?"

"Once Dani is back on American soil, then I _promise _you that I will deal with her legally. Her mother, her friend Matt, I will prosecute them for fraud, amongst other things. I mean they have no money so it's not like you can recoup your legal fees that way. I can't make you whole Charlie, but I can make sure by the end of it you have your good name back and the media is praising you."

"Her mother is suing me by the way."

"Even _better_," Santana said, it would be easier to wrap this whole thing up in a neat bow. "Once we find Dani, it won't be hard to prove that they _knew _she was alive, and all of this was some scheme to get money out of you. And then my mom will pretty much get over it, and it's one last thing that we'd have to worry about."

Charlie nodded, "Can I at least tell Quinn that you proposed?"

"_No_, she still talks to my parents. It's _annoying_ and weird."

Charlie puffed out her cheeks, "I'm going to hire a plane that has a sign that says you proposed to fly all over the city once this is over."

Santana gave Charlie a look, "I take it back, I don't want to marry you anymore," she said gently swatting Charlie. "We'll tell my parents together, and we'll make sure Quinn's in the call or _here_. Then we can have our wedding like the next day and everything will be good. But before we do that, we really need to make sure that we get our powers working. What happened yesterday can't happen again."

Charlie made a face, "I'll talk to Sam, he's probably calmed down about his place, and he'll probably _nerd _out once I explain to him that we can't use our abilities at the same time near each other without an explosion. He'll find some comic book and it'll all make sense more or less."

"Is that how you learned how to use your powers? Comic books?"

"Yes. I don't recommend it, at least not with Sam. Tip, you do not need to put your life in danger to test if your powers will activate automatically. They do not."

Santana opened her mouth and then closed it before shaking her head. "I'll take your word for it."

~ O ~

"So, let me make sure I _got this_, you were using your abilities to rip off Santana's clothes. And you were using your abilities to make sex toys, and you did at the same time and it caused the explosion?" Sam asked looking between them. When Charlie nods he frowns slightly. "How have you two never used your powers at the same time before?"

"Charlie normally prefers taking my clothes off by hand, and we _normally_ have sex toys on hand at both our places?" Santana answers with a shrug. "There's never really been a _need_ to use our abilities at the same time. And it's not like I use my powers for anything more than topping things off. I prefer _not _to use them."

"And Charlie uses her abilities more often," Sam said the frown deepening for a moment. "_Interesting_."

Santana leans in and nudges Charlie, "He's talking about our powers, right? Not our sex life?"

Charlie smiled when Sam scowled at them, "I mean, it's probably the closest he's gotten to sex in like _forever_. I think he's still carrying a torch for Quinn."

"I _have a_ girlfriend!"

"Who lives in Canada," Charlie explains to Santana who snorts. Charlie flashes Sam a smile, "I'm joking Sam. My abilities are working fine. I tested them soon after. I didn't really feel anything different."

Sam turned to Santana, "Charlie's never really told me what your abilities are so—" Sam blinks and stares at the football that's currently in front of him. "You create things."

"More or less," Santana said with a shrug. "I mean I created Charlie's—" Santana trailed off. "Never mind."

Sam shuddered; it was probably a sex thing he didn't want to know about. Charlie was like his _sister_, of course he was aware that Charlie didn't quite see him like that, but she was. He was happy to be in her little circle of friends, and he was happy to help Charlie try and mitigate the cost of her powers. "Well it's rather simple then isn't it. I've always figured Charlie's abilities were manipulating dark matter to some degree. Santana's abilities are the exact opposite. So, it makes sense that when you're using them in concert with one another then things will explode. It happens all the time in comic books."

Santana turned to Charlie, "I thought you said this would help. I think he's making shit up as he goes along."

"He's been right about most of this stuff so far," Charlie said looking at Santana. "I mean all he does is read science fiction stuff and comic books, it's no wonder he can't get a girlfriend. We should be _happy_ about that."

Santana nodded; Charlie did have a point. She turns to Sam, "You're right I should trust the virgin since this is basically his entire life," she smirks at Sam.

Sam groans, Charlie generally just listened to what he had to say. Now he had to deal with Santana making fun of him as well. "Look, you guys are _probably_ going to be fine, unless you want to figure out how to weaponize using your abilities in tandem like that, I _personally_ suggest that you just go back to what you did before, _not _using your abilities around each other."

"Okay," Charlie said with a shrug.

Santana frowned, Charlie was probably used to Sam just giving her a bit of information and just going with it but she _hadn't _been using her powers like that. "Now that you know what my abilities are—what can I do with my powers? I mean Charlie can teleport, she can destroy things rather easily, and make things disappear—I can make coffee, I don't think it's _fair _that she gets all these super powers."

"It's _one _super power which she's trained to do multiple things," Sam pointed out but sighs when Santana gives him a pointed look. "I'm not sure, I mean I'd have to do research into your particular ability but in _theory_ if you can make inanimate objects, you _should_ be able living ones, though I imagine the process would be more complex." Sam pauses and looks at Santana, who seemed to be thinking about it. "Do _not_ create living objects Santana, that's _highly_ unethical, and we're not quite sure what the consequences of doing something like that would be."

**Santana sighs and reaches down to squeeze Charlie's hand, "Fine, I'll just keep making our sex toys then. It saves us a fortune you know." She can see a quizzical look in Charlie's eye and shrugs her shoulders, it was something that she'd keep in her back pocket and start working on. She'd already made living cells every time she ****_hurt _****herself and healed her body, she was doing it. How much harder could it possibly to make a ****_plant_****?**


	63. Part 04: Chapter 62

It's the sizzle of bacon, and the yapping of Mario's dog that causes Sue Sylvester to stir. She glances at the time in confusion, even as she reaches to touch the empty side of the bed. It was a little after six in the morning, and she couldn't remember the last time her husband had gotten up before eight am, let alone made her breakfast. The whole thing felt _eerie_, apart from the dog yapping away the house was too quiet, Mario usually _sung_ or hummed loudly as he worked, or at least had the radio going.

Maybe she's being paranoid, but nothing is sitting right to her. She glances her nightstand and opens the drawer and pulls out a small revolver. A gun that she had bought soon after Titan had gone after Charlie and people had started to end up dead. Charlie hadn't made a _move _yet, but with this recent attempt to lock Charlie up and have her killed by paying a few inmates, had backfired spectacularly. Upper management, was in a panic since Charlie had been let out, no one knew when she was going to strike.

"_Mario_?" Sue calls out. She waits for a moment, but there is no answer and the paranoia comes back. She steals her nerves and grips her gun as she quietly makes her way down the stairs and towards the kitchen, pausing when the dog finally stops yapping.

"_There's a good girl_."

Sue felt an icy grip wrap around her heart, and she nearly drops her gun, it was _definitely_ Charlie. But how had she gotten in? They had a top of the line alarm system, another feature that she had insisted they install once they had lost another set of men against Charlie. They didn't have video or any sound just _body _parts. She brings her gun up and rolls around from where she had been under cover pointing the weapon at Charlie's head. "_Freeze_."

Charlie looked up from where she was feeding Mario's little Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Ricotta, bacon. The smile on Charlie's face faded slightly when she saw the gun pointed at her head, "Sue."

"What are you doing _here_ and where is my husband?" her hands were shaking, even as she kept the gun trained on Charlie.

Charlie rests her head on her hand as she leans in, and points to the pantry. "Don't worry I wasn't going to kill him, I doubted he _knew _the type of woman he married."

Sue slowly moves towards the pantry, circling around the island and reaches back behind her to open the pantry doors, and takes a quick look, relaxing for a moment when she spots Mario _unhurt_, even if he is currently tied up with a gag covering his mouth. She turns to Charlie who hasn't moved "What do you want?" She says stepping back to pull the gag from Mario's mouth. Charlie still didn't look particularly perturbed by the fact that she had a gun pointed at her, and that made her uneasy.

"_Personally_, to kill you." Charlie said as she picks up some bacon and takes a bite. She chews slowly, "Don't worry, I've turned over a new _leaf_, I'm not allowed to kill anyone unless I feel like my life is in danger. And since it _isn't_, I'm here to convince you to do the _right _thing Sue, the _thing _you should have done _years _ago. Telling the world what you _did _to those teenagers, the experiments you ran on us, naming everyone involved—"

Sue didn't hesitate to pull the trigger, but instead of a loud bang and the flash of the muzzle, there isn't any and she feels a sharp pain tear through her leg causing her to drop the gun in shock as a scream rips from her lips and she clutches her leg, she can feel warm liquid pooling around her leg.

"_Sue_! What did you do to her!"

"Did you see me do anything?" Charlie asked as she finally got up. "You seem like a decent man Mario, and I'm sure you _enjoy_ the life your wife provides you, letting you run your shitty Italian restaurant, that has a few health code violations, you have your _dog_. You live in this lovely house, drive nice cars, and I'm sure you're proud of your wife, being in charge of her own department." Charlie squats down in front of Sue and picks up the gun and gets up and places it on the counter before heading back and taking a look at Sue's injury, it wasn't _life _threatening she had made sure it wouldn't be, still she uses her ability to remove the bullet that's lodged in Sue's leg and holds up the bullet for Sue to see, watching as her eyes go wide.

"How did you—" Sue sputtered, swallowing when the bullet suddenly disappears in front of her eyes. "You survived going through the singularity."

"And to think that I thought you were nothing more than a middle manager," Charlie said tapping her finger on Sue's nose. She turns to Mario, "Your wife was instrumental in running illegal experiments on teenagers and _children_, I don't know how many teens there were, I lost count of seeing them coming and going but I _survived_."

"_Liar_!" Mario insists, he knew his wife. She had worked with kids, teaching cheerleaders.

Charlie took that moment to poke the hole in Sue's leg, twisting her finger into the wound, Sue doesn't scream, instead she grits her teeth and lets out a broken sob, as she tries to hold it back. "Tell him." When Sue's mouth clamps shut Charlie sighs. "Sue, tell him the truth. I think you _owe _me that at the very least. Because if you don't give me what I want, I'll find someone else who I can easily put the fear of god into, and I assure you that for me it will be _easy._ You think your _boss _won't sing for me when I do the _exact _same thing, that he won't tell me _exactly_ where Dani is."

Sue licked her lips, Charlie had left them alone, and she _knew _poking the bear would be a stupid idea. Figgins would _certainly_ talk if he was in even _half _this amount of pain. "I'd want immunity."

"I don't really care _if _you get immunity Sue, just know that if you're _out _here. You'll be _out _here with me, and every _bad day_ I have, I'll think about how you and your people _tortured _me. How you pumped me full of drugs, how you starved me, assaulted me, killed all those children and then _tried it again_, and I'll remember how you're still out and I'll pay you and your _family_ a visit," Charlie said with a smile.

Sue shudders and looks at Mario, she loved him, sure sometimes he _irritated _her, and there were days when she wondered if he was holding her back. But he didn't deserve _this _to be terrorized. "It's—_it's _true."

Charlie doesn't look at Mario, she doesn't know what she had expected but she doesn't _feel _relieved or vindicated. She's not sure she's feeling anything at all. "There's a lawyer in the Northern District of Illinois, who would very much like for you to walk in and confess, with all the documents to _back _it up. The names of every _child_ that you killed, pictures. _Everything_." When Sue doesn't say anything, she gets up and places a hand on Mario's head.

"_Okay_," Sue says before Charlie can do anything. "I'll do it!"

Charlie tilts her head slightly, still not moving her hand from Mario's head, "Do you know where Dani is?"

Sue swallows. "Morocco, we gave her three million dollars to stay in Morocco," she manages to get out.

**Charlie nods at the information she'd been given and turns to Mario, tapping his forehead gently. "I imagine you're thinking about calling the police the moment I leave. Telling them that I broke in and shot Sue, and did some weird magic tricks. That will only make me come back Mario, so keep my name out your mouth or I'll make you wish that I had killed you." With that she pats Mario's cheek and walks out of the pantry flicking her wrist and freeing him. She touches the gun which sinks into the island and everything that she touched disappears. Leaving the kitchen clean of her presence. She dumps the bacon on the ground for the dog and makes the plate disappear before pausing and looking at Sue. "I know you may think you have time to figure something out, but I've got eyes on you Sue, and your husband. So, if my friend tells me that you didn't make your appointment ****_tomorrow_****, and that you didn't show, then I'll find you again. And this time I won't be so ****_kind_****." With that she sinks back into the darkness, she was going to give Santana an update, and then she wanted to curl up next to her and sleep. Long teleportation's like this ****_drained _****her.**


	64. Part 04: Chapter 63

Santana glanced at her phone, checking the time, it was just a little after noon, and she bites her lip. She wasn't sure what she had expected but there hadn't been a single text or _call _all day from her _fiancée. _The word brings a small smile to her face as it hits her that she's finally engaged to Charlie of all people. It had been a long road to get to this point, and she was certain that they were skipping steps, but ever since they had _lived,_ she had imagined that this day would come, and besides they were still a long way off from actually getting married. Charlie hadn't been exonerated yet, and she knew her mother would never accept their marriage if she _thought _that Charlie had murdered Dani.

She reaches for her phone, hoping that Charlie hadn't decided to sleep the entire day away. She had been exhausted in the morning and it had taken a lot of prying and promises to make Charlie let go of her so she could get ready for work. She _suspected_ that Charlie had _done _something, while she slept, but when she had pressed, she had gotten some sleepy gibberish from Charlie. She would check in and then get back to work, and she'd swing by her parent's place to grab an overnight bag before she stopped back at Charlie's place.

Before she can call Charlie, there's a sharp knock on her door, and she looks up to see Jesse St. James at her door, and she slowly puts her phone down. "What's going on?"

"Do you remember that strange case we had? It was a few months ago, that Asian girl who disappeared for awhile and came to us with a story of how she was in a prison of some sort and she got rescued?"

"Yeah, she moved back to Japan, didn't she?" Santana reminded him.

"We have a woman, who just came in and asked for _immunity_, she's claiming whistleblower status. She's spinning this story that her company kidnapped _hundreds_ of children and experimented on them."

Santana touched her phone, well that certainly explained what Charlie had been doing last night. She wasn't sure if she wanted to kiss Charlie or _strangle _her. Though she suspected that her soon to be wife had put the fear of _god _into Sue Sylvester. "I thought you didn't believe in conspiracies."

"She has _pictures_ of kids, many of which have been missing Santana, she has documents, emails, and folders upon folders. It's a treasure trove of _information_, and some of her information checks out. Get this, Charlie Fabray of all people is in that folder. It's an _all _hands-on deck situation Santana, there are so many documents to sort through, don't think anyone is leaving the office tonight. Whoever takes this case, is going to make a name for them self."

Santana bit her lip, by all account she needed to recuse herself, but she wanted to see this through, and she gets up. "I want to help anyway I can."

"I think most of the case has already been laid out for us. Murder, assault, conspiracy, we might even get them on RICO charges, we want this _as _public as possible, but there is _probably_ quite a bit Classified. It's probably best right now that we keep everything quiet and start sending out investigators. You _know _Charlie Fabray don't you, could you convince her to come in?"

Santana bit her lip, Jesse knew her as a kidnap victim, and it would come out. She couldn't risk tainting the case. "I want to help _Jesse_. I do, but I am going to need to _recuse_ myself," Santana said finally. "I'm sure you'll find my picture in one of those files anyway, and how do you think I _met _Charlie. We've been on and _off _since we both escaped. It'll be _ideal _if I don't handle anything on the case."

"_You_—"

"I lied to the police, because I didn't trust them. Charlie told me she was picked up by cops, and she hadn't even _done _anything. I was picked up by an _Uber _driver. I knew it was some shadowy organization, who clearly had power and had no problem _murdering_ and torturing children. I didn't want to be found or have my family _killed_. I need this done by the book because we lost so many people. Mostly poor kids, I may have been the exception because of who my parents were, but Charlie didn't have anyone looking for her. So, everything needs to be by the book."

Jesse mulled over her words, "So when Dottie came in—"

"I knew she was telling the truth."

"And the vigilante?" Jesse frowned, there was so much to unpack he'd need to go to

"I don't know anything about a vigilante. There was an _explosion_ and we escaped. Maybe the vigilante did it, I'm not sure but I never saw anyone," Santana said, it would be easier to keep her lying down to a minimum. There had been an explosion that had killed everyone and that's how they had managed to escape. "I will testify to all of that, if that's what you need. Everything that happened to me."

"_Good_—good," Jesse said they really could have used Santana's help on this. "We need to go the criminal division chief with this information. We'll also need to work with our counterpart in the Southern District of New York, but for now, we need to gather as much information as we can while keeping this quiet. Go see the boss, and then take the rest of the day off. We're going to need you in a different role Santana, and that's corralling Charlie Fabray. I'd rather make her the face of this then you. She's already in the public eye and I don't think you want to be known as that—"

"Woman who got kidnapped and tortured," Santana finishes for him. He was _right _she didn't want to be known as that, and she knew if she asked Charlie to do it, she would take that bullet for her in a heartbeat. "She's not going to want to testify unless this whole thing about Dani is cleared up. I know she didn't _kill _her. She thinks Titan had something to do with it. If they do, then we need to get the charges dropped, and she'll be more open about this."

Jesse nodded. That made sense, things he had heard about that case that hadn't made sense were now beginning to. "I'll start the interrogation. She's basically refused a _lawyer_. But she has asked for immunity."

"People like her shouldn't get to cut deals with the government when they've destroyed hundreds upon hundreds of lives," Santana said coolly as she got up.

"'I'll keep that in mind. Let's go see the boss and then you should head home, and let your family know what's going on. I know you can work on other things, but this is a _first_ for us and I'm not sure what the protocol would be in this."

~ O ~

Charlie groaned as she tugged on her blanket, she'd done jumps before but clearly doing a jump to New York and back had done some damage to her body. She was _tired_ and was exhausted and she really couldn't seem to get _warm_. She had slept through most of the morning but she needed to get up and actually _do _something. She needed to make sure that Sue had done what she had asked of her. Then she needed to deal with the whole Dani situation. She tries to get up but her body protests and she flops back down on the bed. She wanted _Santana_, but it was the middle of the day and Santana had to work. She wasn't sure if she had given Santana a key to her place, and she _really_ didn't want to get up to open the door for her if she chose to show up again tonight. Maybe she should try and reach for her phone and tell Sam to give Santana his emergency key. She closes her eyes and tries to fall back asleep.

"You look like _shit_."

The words cause Charlie to open her eyes and she spots Santana pulling off her jacket and kicking off her shoes at the entrance of the door. "I feel like _death_," Charlie admits, doing her best to scoot over so Santana had some space to lay down. She could feel the warmth from where she was laying in the bed. She gives up after a second, when her body doesn't respond the way she wants. When Santana sits on the bed, she immediately wraps her arms around her waist and with all the energy she had left she pulls Santana towards her, feeling slightly refreshed.

"Sue Sylvester showed up to my office today, hobbling on crutches and did a massive document dump and asked for immunity. You wouldn't have had anything to do with that would you?" Santana asked as she gently ran a hand through Charlie's hair, gently rubbing the top of her head.

"It was self defense," Charlie mumbled immediately, shivering slightly and pulling Santana tighter. "Did she shit a brick when she saw you?"

"No, this isn't _my _case, I'm a _witness_," Santana explains feeling Charlie stiffen at the words. "She had _documents_ Charlie and if my face showed up in any of them—I had to recuse myself, but since I work there, I do have some _input_ and I will testify. But they want to talk to you."

"I didn't want you to testify," Charlie murmured. "I did all this so you wouldn't have too."

"I want too. I can _stand_ by your side Charlie. You don't always have to _protect _me," Santana says shifting so she can get comfortable. "I can protect you too."

"I'll testify," Charlie promises with a lazy yawn.

Santana's eyes widen at Charlie's promise. "Are you sure? I mean with all your legal troubles—" Charlie's hand covered her mouth and she rolls her eyes at the action.

"I'll have a lawyer. I'll do it with you, now shush Santana, I want to sleep, and you're _really_ warm," Charlie murmured.

Santana smiled softly, and gently massaged Charlie's scalp. She was worried Charlie's body was cold, freezing. But she didn't seem to be in any danger, still she needed to be ready to call her father in case Charlie took a turn for the worse. But until then she'd just be there for Charlie, she had kept her part of the bargain. The dark chapter of their lives was finally entering the climax and once she got her hands-on Dani, they'd be in the clear. Maybe she'd retire and live with Charlie on some warm beach somewhere. They could be _happy_, maybe they'd get a dog. Maybe one day they'd adopt a kid together and just be a family.


	65. Part 04: Chapter 64

"Stay."

Santana glanced over at Charlie who laying naked in _their_ bed, and rolls her eyes. "I thought you'd be _happy_ that we have Dani in custody. She's being charged with a _litany_ of charges. I've managed to connect some of the money that Titan Industries gave her to her family and her friend Matt Rutherford. You probably have a good case of slander. They _knew _she was alive; they knew she was safe and they accused you of her murder it cost you _your _job—speaking of jobs," Santana trailed off and turned to look at Charlie, who puffed out her cheeks at the conversation. "Your name has been cleared Charlie. Sam has said the board has offered you your position back—"

"Sam is working harder than I ever did, to make this happen, and despite my legal fees I still have plenty of _money_ to live off, plus I still own major stake in my company and I have voting interests. I _really_ didn't like being the CEO I had to be _charming_ and nice to people, and I needed to write reports." Charlie shudders. "That's why Sam wants to give me my job back, because he _hates _it as much as I did."

"I have plenty of paperwork and you don't hear me complaining," Santana pointed out, smiling when Charlie snorted at the comment.

"I've seen your desk, I'm not sure how you can find anything," Charlie replied as she sat up and watched Santana applying her lipstick. "Besides you enjoy it when I make and bring you lunch, and I've got my _hobbies_."

"Watching the food network and trying to recreate Guy Fieri dishes isn't a _hobby_, it's a heart attack waiting to happen," Santana teased as she finished and turned to look at Charlie. "Are we still having dinner with my parents tonight?"

"I don't know, are we? You're the one that keeps cancelling on them. I'd like to tell them you proposed to me, though I still think your mother thinks I'm the worst person on the planet. I mean Dani is finally back in the States as of this morning, and despite wanting to wring her neck, I'm going to let you handle it."

"If I can't do it tonight, then how about tomorrow during lunch?"

"Or this _weekend_, when you're _not _working," Charlie pointed out. "The sooner we can tell them, the sooner we can head down to the courthouse and _get _married. Then we can have a small or big celebration if you want. Then we can go on our honeymoon."

Santana rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help the smile on her face. "Alright, I'll make sure we can have dinner with them tonight, but I really need to go and put the bad guys away. Think about helping Sam out. You owe him."

Charlie makes a face, at this but nods as she tugs her blanket over her, she was going to go back to bed if Santana wasn't interested in joining her for some morning fun. Santana was never interested in joining her for some morning fun. "I'll bring you lunch today; don't worry it'll be healthy."

Santana winced, "Just get me a salad Charlie, everyone gets jealous when you _actually_ cook for me. If I don't bring enough to share and all that—that is not an invitation to actually bring enough to share. If you start feeding them then well, I don't know what I'm going to do."

Charlie flashes Santana an amused grin, "Alright."

"Charlie—"

"I know, I promise I won't. I'll bring you some salad and some soup," Charlie promises.

Santana narrows her eyes, there were days when she trusted Charlie completely, but she'd seen the smile on Charlie's face before to know that she couldn't be _trusted_. "Remember, we're going to see my parents tonight. So _just _a _simple _salad and a cup of soup."

Charlie saluted at Santana who scowled in response. She could do those things just fine.

~ O ~

"So, do they even _know _we're dating?" Charlie asked as she shifted the expensive wine around in her hand. "I should have brought champagne."

"I'm an _adult_—" Santana began as she knocked on the door.

"So, your dad knows and you haven't mentioned it to your mom, it's probably good that I didn't bring champagne then." Charlie mused pulling at her shirt, when she gets swatted by Santana. "Should I bring it up?"

"Dani? No. I say we just get it over with, and my mom will probably wait till we _leave_ before calling me to tell me that I'm making a mistake. You've never treated me like you treated Dani, you've never treated any of your other lovers like you treated Dani. My biggest issue with you is that you always want to have sex in the morning when I have to get to work."

"You should quit your job, so we can have sex in the morning," Charlie said as the door swung open. She pauses and flashes a smile at Maribel, who didn't look _thrilled _at her words. "Hey Mrs. Lopez," Charlie said flashing her a smile and shoving the bottle of wine forward. "I brought wine!"

Santana immediately wrapped an arm around Charlie's extended arm. She could already see her mother's judgemental gaze directed at them. "We're getting married. I proposed, she said yes," Santana blurts out. "I love her, I've always loved her and we've dealt with the issue of Dani, and Frannie."

"Speak for yourself," Charlie muttered darkly.

Santana elbowed Charlie forcing her to smile. "Frannie's credibility took a hit, after you were _proven_ innocent—"

"She didn't kill Dani, that doesn't mean that the _rest _wasn't _true_." Maribel said looking at Charlie. "I saw the picture of the bruises—"

"_Mami_," Santana interrupted trying to put her foot down.

"I did it," Charlie shrugged. "Some of it was an accident, other times I wasn't _thinking_. I did _hurt _Dani, but nothing in that relationship was _healthy_. We brought out the _worst _in each other and I treated her _badly,_ I treated her like than she was _less _than." Charlie admits meeting Maribel's gaze. "I never _loved _Dani, not the way I love and cherish your daughter, and I would never raise a hand to her. I could _never_."

Charlie had always denied it, and she suspected that Charlie would never publicly admit what she had done. "Admitting that doesn't mean that I'm going to trust you with my daughter. I'm not sure you two should be getting married. The two of you have always been _extremely_ attached for periods of time but you always breaking up. I don't see how anything has changed."

"Because the _issue _has been resolved, the people who kidnapped _us _are currently facing trial, many of them have plead guilty and will be serving time in federal prison. They're no longer a shadow looming over our relationship." Santana said jumping to Charlie's defense. It was mostly the truth; she wasn't sure that her mother could handle the entire truth not like her father did. "Can we come inside now? I don't want to have this conversation on the doorstep," Santana tugged Charlie in and around her mother who was standing there with her mouth agape. "They caught the people who took me. That's how I met Charlie; we've known each other since those days."

Maribel turned to Charlie who rubbed the back of her neck, "You were kidnapped as well?"

"I got arrested, at least I thought I was being arrested." Charlie admitted. "They took me to the same facility that they took Santana. They ran experiments on us and all the other teens died, we're the only two survivors."

"She _kept _me alive," Santana throws in for good measure. "She did, she gave me her food, she motivated me to stay alive."

"That's not—" Charlie was elbowed hard. She grimaces and looks at Santana who is on a roll.

"You need to trust me, mami. Charlie is the one, and I know she's not perfect and she's got skeletons in her closet. But some of them are the same as mine and we do make each other better." Santana glanced at Charlie who seemed unsure of when to jump in.

"I've been watching Santana's back since were teens, and that will never change Mrs. Lopez. I've loved her since we escaped. I have always loved her even when we weren't together. She makes me better, she makes me want to _be _better and now that Titan industries isn't out there _hurting _people, I've been in a better place. I do have therapists and I've been dealing with any anger issues, but even when we argue with one another, which we did this morning. I'm not as _angry_ as I would have gotten in the past."

Maribel swallows, this was so much to take in. "Does your papi know?" It's the only thing she could think of at this moment, Miguel needed to hear this story. She had suspected that Santana hadn't been completely truthful. They had never found these _people _that Santana had described as taking her. It had been a cold case, and she had heard some rumors that Santana had just run away. They hadn't seen the scars on Santana's body. They hadn't seen how much weight she had lost or the haunted look in her eyes. They hadn't woken up to their daughter screaming in terror in the middle of the night.

"I do know. She told me everything when she confessed to me about dating Frannie," Miguel said speaking up from where he was listening at the end of the hall. When his wife looks at him a betrayed look on her face. "I couldn't tell you. She asked me not too—"

"I could have—"

"Cops arrested me, and dragged me to that facility. They had no problem killing people, or sending mercenaries after me once they figured out that I had lived. If you had investigated then you probably would have gotten Santana or your _husband_ killed. I didn't know if it was the government or some corporation, that's why no one told you. You're really good at your job, and you always want to seek the truth," Charlie speaks up finally pulling down her collar to reveal the bullet hole.

"She took it to save Santana," Miguel said slowly. "It's why despite her _past_, which I agree is troubling, I know Santana will be _safe_ with her."

Santana turned to look at Charlie for a moment, who looked very uncomfortable, she had taken a bullet for her. "You're right we've fought, we've argued—we've broken up, but that's why I proposed. I know it might seem silly to you, but—a lot of our breakups was because we'd given up without much of a fight for the other person. We don't agree with the other and running away was simpler, but that didn't stop the bond we share. So, I asked her to marry me, and she said yes."

"I'm pretty sure I said that you needed to get me a ring first and get down on one—" Charlie cleared her throat at a sharp look from Santana, but she smiled. "She said no to eloping, but I do want to marry your daughter."

"You should have brought champagne then," Miguel said before Maribel could say anything. "This is a celebration."

"It's good that she said no the eloping, I would never have approved of this relationship, if she hadn't. There would have been a do-over," Maribel sniffed, before sighing. "There is still more that you need to tell me, about what happened to you—to the both of you. The _truth_."

Charlie exchanged a look with Santana, and reached for her hand squeezing it. She wasn't about to tell another person about her powers. She hadn't used them since she'd tortured Sue. She'd been doing good. When Santana squeezes her hand, she knows that they're on the same page about this.

~ O ~

"We should probably tell Quinn," Santana muses watching as Charlie pauses from where she is trying to get naked and glares at her.

"_Seriously_?" Charlie said looking up at Santana.

"I'd like for you to have _some _family on your side when we get married. You love Quinn, don't you? You practically forced me to be her best friend."

"You were bullying her."

"I was not _bullying _her. I was ignoring her existence as everyone else bullied her. I want to let you know that she was _weird_ even back then," Santana points out. "None of which changes my point that you _love _her and you'd like for her to be there. You do have family who loves you Charlie."

"You love me, and you'll be there at our wedding, right?" Charlie smiles.

Santana's eyes narrow slightly, she hadn't expected this to be an issue. "What did Quinn do?"

"Nothing. When all of this went down Rachel may have believed Frannie, Quinn knew I didn't do it, but I didn't really want to come between her and Rachel. I know she feels guilty about it, but I really don't want to go back to the time where Quinn was dating women with wrinkly asses. I'm still not okay with Rachel, and inviting them to the wedding might make things awkward on what is supposed to be the happiest day of my life."

"Like you showing up to their wedding with Dani on your arm?" Santana teases, which brings a sheepish smile to Charlie's face. "I'll yell at Rachel for you if you want. Every news station in the country ran with it. There are images on the internet of Dani in handcuffs. How have you still not gotten a call back from Rachel?"

"I imagine she's embarrassed, that she believed Frannie of all people. We had a secret thing going on. I mean it was right in front of Quinn's face, but still—" Charlie dodged a pillow that Santana launched at her head, and grins. "I'll send an email tomorrow."

Santana nods and pats the bed beside her. "Call her, be the adult. She's your sister and you love her enough to bully me into befriending her."

Charlie flops on the bed beside her and wraps an arm around Santana's waist, pulling her in for a quick kiss on the cheek. "And aren't you glad you did befriend her?"

"I saw a lot of wrinkly asses Charlie. I _lived _with her," Santana reminds Charlie who laughs at her plight. "But I mean apart from her questionable taste in women, I mean she married a _hobbit _of all things," When Charlie kisses her again she sighs. "We're not teenagers anymore," she reminds Charlie even as she turns her face to kiss back.

"I know," Charlie murmurs against her lips moving to her neck.

"We can't keep having sex every night," Santana says again shivering slightly.

"Debatable. We're getting married and I still think you're the most beautiful woman I have ever seen."

"Kiss-ass," Santana says as she feels Charlie's hands on her body.

"We can do that tonight if you want," Charlie informed her and she's rewarded with a quick pinch. She smirks and rolls over so she's on top of Santana and leans in to kiss her.


	66. Part 04: Chapter 65

Sam stared at the two women in front of him, he had been very certain that he had told Santana to never attempt to create life. In fact, he had made it clear that the _ethical_ implications, not to mention the practical implications could be catastrophic for the world. He had been sure he had _stressed_ those points to Santana. He should have made this abundantly clear when the two of them had gone off on their three-week honeymoon. Charlie at least _understood_ that using her abilities came with a responsibility, but he had never taken the time to beat it into Santana, that her powers were even more world changing than Charlie's. "What do you _mean _you're _pregnant_."

Charlie scratched her cheek; she wasn't quite sure how it had happened either. She'd been with Santana nearly every minute of the day for the past three weeks. They'd had sex non-stop, and when they weren't doing that, they were exploring whichever country they were in. "Santana's pregnant."

"Are you _certain_."

"The doctor confirmed it, we take our health seriously after what they did to us and I missed a period—" Santana shrugged. "So, I went to go check it out. Blood test results came back last night and Charlie dragged me _here_. Because you're clearly the only nerd that we trust with this strange shit."

"Santana," Charlie said with a sigh. "He's doing his best."

"He gets all his information from comic books."

"Well where else is he going to get his knowledge from it's not like magic babies just pop into existence," Charlie pointed out. "So, she's pregnant."

"_How_?"

"Well Sam, when two women love each other—"

"I know how science works, and I know that you didn't get inseminated, otherwise you wouldn't be _here_."

"That's a big word," Charlie mused. When she's met with a scowl, she smiles at him, "We're having a baby Sam, a little baby that has a bit of me and Santana in it—"

"Are you _certain_ about that?" Sam questioned. "If Santana _did_ create life, if she _created_ life with her abilities, are we sure the other half of the DNA is yours? And even if that is the case are, we _certain_ that this is compatible with life? And let's assume this child of yours is born with ten toes and ten fingers, and is healthy, what if she has your powers. I told you Charlie that if you ever wanted to have kids, then you needed to think long and hard about a surrogacy or adoption because we have no idea what they did to your genetic code. If it was rewritten or if it was damaged and whether you would pass that onto any child you have."

Santana frowned slightly; it wasn't as if she hadn't thought about this on the way here. But Charlie seemed very enthusiastic about having a baby, and she hadn't been sure how to bring all this up. She was fine with making Sam the bad guy. "I'm willing to take the risk Sam—"

"It could kill you," Sam said firmly. "You're not going to a doctor and letting them know what happened to you. _You _don't even know what happened to you. What happens to a _two-year-old_ with Charlie's powers—or if they show the same abilities as you? And the same lack of care of you do when it comes to all of this? What if they create a _dog _because they wanted one and you said no? What if they bring their toys to life? Have either of you thought of this? Are you going to take responsibility if god forbid your kid hurts someone accidentally?"

"The baby could also be normal. You're right there are a lot of what if's—but that also could mean we just have a normal kid; you know with normal parent problems. You know, getting our kid into preschool. We should probably start now—"

Sam snapped his fingers in front of Charlie's face forcing her to pay attention. They weren't taking this seriously. "I don't approve of this."

"So, you don't want to be the baby's godfather?" Charlie asked. "I mean we figure if our kid does have powers then you probably could help mold the kid so you know the baby doesn't turn out to be a supervillain. It has half my DNA after all."

"You aren't a supervillain," Santana says with a roll of her eyes. Though Charlie _definitely_ rode that line hard. She had probably been one bad day away from going full supervillain. "Our child won't have a life like you had. They won't want for anything; I mean we aren't going to spoil the kid but they'll have a normal childhood."

Charlie nodded, and reached for Santana's hand. She _hoped _that if they got any powers at all it would be Santana's. She wasn't sure she wanted her kid to have her powers and all the negatives that came with it. "We should talk to your father, he knows our medical history, and even though he's not a baby doctor, he should be able to give us more information, right?"

Santana nodded, that sounded like a really good idea. She flicks her eyes at Sam who still looked ten seconds away from a full-blown panic attack. "Changed my mind we'll find another godfather."

"Hey now! Who else are you going to trust with a super baby?" Sam scowled crossing his arms over his chest.

"The person who won't get them a cape for their first birthday," Santana shoots back.

"I would _never_! Bad things happen to superheroes with _capes_." Sam snaps at Santana horrified that she would think him that irresponsible.

Charlie rolled her eyes as Santana began to pick on Sam, at least he was fighting back now. They were having a baby, she suspected Santana had accidentally done it when they had talked about what they wanted in the future and she had said it would be nice to have a kid that was a little bit of both of them. She hadn't expected Santana to do it _accidentally_. But with those responsible for her imprisonment and torture behind bars and a massive class action suit going forward against Titan, she had finally felt comfortable enough to want to start a family with Santana. She had just wanted to start with a _puppy_. Maybe they could do both.

~ O ~

Santana could _only_ blame Sam for the current state of her house. Sam and Charlie. Charlie was the one that had enabled Sam's terrible behavior with their daughter, who was now obsessed with superheroes. Spider-Gwen happened to be her favorite, and that generally meant climbing over things and _leaping_ onto other pieces of furniture. She'd already nearly knocked down the television _twice_. She'd already lost three laptops to her daughter's attempts at parkour.

If you could call it parkour. It was more like jumping around and mostly falling. There had been two trips to see her abuelo, and four trips to the hospital. She was beginning to think that the doctors suspected them of child abuse. At least they had until Isabela had gotten bored and attempted to jump off the hospital bed, when her back was turned. She was certain that Charlie had used her abilities for the first time in _years_ to grab her before she cracked her head on the hospital floor.

She was eternally grateful that her daughter hadn't inherited their abilities. With how wild Isabella was, and how permissive Charlie was it was a recipe for disaster. She loved Charlie more than anything, but with a father like Russell Fabray, Charlie had read every parenting book that she could get her hands on and taken copious notes. Which had all gone out the window the moment the moment she had laid eyes on Isabella. Her wife had overcorrected. She couldn't think of a time that Charlie had said no to Isabella. No matter how ludicrous the request was. They had argued over it and Charlie was getting better at backing her up, but she still failed to be a proper disciplinarian. She was working on it though.

Though it would help if Quinn acted like an adult around Isabella, but she spoiled her niece as well. As did her parents. Her daughter was _loved_. And it wasn't as if Isabella wasn't a _good _kid, she was. She was just incredibly _spoiled_.

And Isabella was the most important part of her life, powers or no. True there were days when she wanted to quit her job but every time she thought about quitting and joining Charlie at being a stay at home mom she got promoted and given more responsibility. The cases that she _did _get usually involved defending children, and teenagers. And she _enjoyed _her work just as much as she enjoyed spending time with her family.

Her family who didn't quite understand that they needed to pick up after themselves after they played with Lego. But at least none of her furniture was broken. She feels the hair on the back of her arm raise and a sudden warmth as Charlie appears from behind her and wraps an arm around her. "You're using your powers again?"

"Here and there, mostly to stop our daughter from getting herself killed," Charlie murmurs into her neck. "She's taking a nap. We went to this trampoline place and I showed her some pretty cool tricks. I've still got it."

Santana turned her head so she could kiss Charlie gently, it's deep enough that it lulls Charlie into a false sense of security. She immediately shoves the container of Lego that she'd been using to contain Isabella's blocks, into Charlie's arms and looks at her. "The house is a mess."

Charlie puffs out her cheeks. "I was going to clean it, but you're home now and Isabella is asleep—" Charlie sighs and looks at the mess that was their living room.

Santana smiles, "If you hurry up, and get the Lego you can join me in the tub. I want a nice long soak," she says finally.

"Should I bring the wine?" Charlie asks with a small smile.

"And do that thing with the chocolate and strawberries that I like," Santana says a grin breaking out on her face. "And I'll do that thing you like when we get to bed tonight."

Charlie's eyes widen, "Yeah?"

Santana nods, "But that's only if you end up—" she blinks and watches as little dark holes appear underneath all the Lego and it begins to rain into the little container. "_Cheater_. Wine, strawberries with chocolate dip," she reminds Charlie as she heads to their room unbuttoning her shirt as she does so. They had made it. They had _lived_, and they weren't done living.

* * *

**AN: And with that it's the end of Dark Fantasy. I haven't written one of these in a long time, mostly cause I don't really have that much to say. I hope you enjoyed, and I hope you all stick around for the next fic whatever I choose to drop next. Who knows what that will be. Probably a new fic will show up in May. **


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